Angels and Demons
by IgnisKnight
Summary: A mysterious wanderer from faraway lands roams the continent of Ylisse in search for vengeance. He soon finds himself in the midst of another war and the shepherds need his help to end it. Little does he know that the very person he is searching for is someone that's right beside him, someone who's just like him, a broken soul. T? May get bumped up. Minor cursing, some dark themes.
1. The wanderer from Elibe

_Log 1 - Elibean series_

 _Today marks the first day in this logbook, it was suggested by Lyn as it appeared that I had lost my memories._

 _Though I was still skeptical that I should carry something like this around when I could be planning for our next battle._

 _Nevertheless, I suppose I should introduce myself._

 _My name is Mark, the writer/ owner of this book._

 _Or at least, that's what Lyn calls me._

 _Whoever is reading this will probably find that I'm either dead, I've misplaced it somewhere or you stole it from my possession for whatever reason._

 _First of all, if it was the third option, I'd ask that you please give it back._

 _But enough of that, I'll start off when my journey first began._

 _I don't remember much about what happened prior to the incident of when I was close to death as well as the incident which would cause my memory loss, but it was evident that I was ambushed as I traversed across the green fields of Sacae's Plain._

 _I'm not exactly sure what I was doing there in the first place to be attacked by either bandits or assassins, I do admit that the scene before me was beautiful._

 _When I woke up, I found myself bandaged and cared for as my surroundings told me that I was located in a rather large hut, or a Ger as I believe it was called._

 _Turning my head around, I was met with the face of a beautiful Sacaen girl who sat silently in the corner, asleep._

 _She apparently had taken me in after finding me in the middle of the plains, barely alive, when she had woken up, we had a long chat about our current standing point, though I found myself enjoying talking with her._

 _Her name was, of course, Lyn._

 _Lyn of the Sacae._

* * *

Wispy clouds of smoke fogged my vision momentarily as I stood in front of the gates of a large fortress of stone, a blizzard of snow and frost rained down from above from the command of what was most likely the higher-ups of life. An endless forest of pine trees surrounded the area, looming over the fortress' wall itself as it blocked out any view of the world outside its reach. Large blue banners were strewn across the place, the roofs of the common folk's homes were caked with a cold layer of snow as many guard soldiers stood on top of the grand castle's wall, walking around with hardened and serious expressions on their faces.

It had astounded me that the guards that were stationed for daily patrol on the population's walls were able to stave off the cold as well as they did with the bored and neutral expressions on their faces. I myself was barely able to keep myself from shaking in my brown leather boots despite the thick faded green cloak I bore with me as well as the long green scarf that hung comfortable and securely around my neck. I was thankfully able to protect my ears due to the hood that bore over my head, though the front of my face still received lots of exposure. My body shivered uncontrollably as I pulled my cloak more securely around me in a desperate attempt to retain warmth. At times like these, I often find myself listening to the complaints of some of my previous companions as to why the gods had to be so cruel to make people have to endure such harsh and uncomfortable conditions such as these; though all I could really care about was taking a well-deserved nap after what it took to get here.

An idea popped into my mind as I dug around my personal leather satchel which was slung around my shoulder. Soon enough, I found the item I was looking for.

A small red book with a small golden flame woven into it's aesthetic, it's once vibrant scarlet cover is now a faded cherry red, well worn through repeated use. Pulling it out, a familiar cerulean glint caught my eye as I stared at the spine of another book lodged deep within the contents of my satchel. This book was much larger in comparison to the previous elfire tome, with a pristine cerulean cover, golden embroideries drew itself across its chilled surface as crystal white snowflakes littered it's front. My lips formed a tight line as I closed the bag, keeping the book away from my sight as I turned around.

There wasn't much to see as the blizzard ravaged though mercilessly on the land behind me, though it was practically impossible to see through the clouded mist of snow and dust. Turning back, I outstretched my hand, fingertips facing towards the cloudy sky as I felt a warmth envelop my hand to my very fingertips. A small flame flickered to life as it danced around the base of my palm before growing into a decent sized makeshift torch to keep me relatively warm as well as granting me a slightly better view of my surroundings for the time being.

Attached to my hip was the trusted black scabbard that hung at my side, well two to be precise. One of the blades kept within its confines was a finely crafted blade that curved along its fine golden edge with a shiny gleam from its point. Engravings of Red and gold decorated its pommel and guard as the red jewel that was pressed into the pommel's core gave off a sense of rarity and power. The other weapon, however, would be considered to be quite unusual to the normal eye, and for good reason.

Like the famous killing edge blade which had been praised for its precision and carried momentum to strike critical points of an opponent's body, it's finely bent edge curved like the edge of a horizon. Though what was the most obvious and curiously unique feature of this weapon was its handle, a handle that nearly matched the length of the blade itself with a black and gold string wrapped around its grip as it felt warm and comforting in my grasp despite the cold weather that I was standing in.

The blade itself was made as a gift from a good friend of mine when I was well into learning the way of the sword. While I was perfectly capable of using magic as my main form of combat, which I was quite proficient at. My closest friend had decided to teach me how to use a sword for close combat situations, as well as giving me an opportunity in which I was capable of being both a multi-ranged unit was something that no-one in their right mind would give up; of course, I regretted it soon after I started having to endure such hellish drills, but looking back, I think that it was worth it.

Though I was still inexperienced at the time, I had surprisingly found my way around using the large and heavy weapon within time through countless hours of getting my ass beat by my friends but also getting their own opinions on the matter. Soon, I had developed a unique fighting style technique that I had learned to hone on my own through studying it's various pros and cons during possible combat scenarios; while it doesn't cover every aspect of battle and it's definitely not a perfect weapon, it's something that I have cherished as a memory of my former companions in travelling, though I suppose it wasn't the time to think about that now; I just really wanted to get inside where it was nice and warm... or at least I hoped it was.

 _By St. Elmine if it's just as cold in there as it is out here, I'm going to die here._

I walked further towards the large and imposing fortress of stone where a tall reinforced wooden gate loomed above me like an impassable guardian. Fortunately, I was quickly spotted by a stationed guard at the post near the door's base entrance. His long blond hair curled out from his steel helmet, though it didn't appear to impair his vision as he made his way to me at the base of the fortress, a curious and wary expression on his face, though they wouldn't deny the courtesy of asking for my reasons. "Hail traveller, what may I ask is it that you wish to seek here?" He said simply, his posture was relaxed yet ready to strike me down with that silver lance that he has on his back if I made a wrong move.

 _Well, at least he's got manners..._

I nodded in appreciation, "Greetings Sir, I have come to request an audience with the reigning Khan of Regna Ferox." I replied, he appeared to ponder on my words for a moment before nodding and drawing his spear; to someone that wasn't familiar to Regna Ferox's customs, it would be considered to be an act of assault, though I was lucky to have done my research beforehand and didn't show any sign of surprise when he did, it was just how things went in Ferox if what I was told to be correct.

"Then you must know of what you must do to, correct?" He asked with a slight hint of apology, yet an excited and challenging gleam shined in his eyes. I sighed but nodded in response to his question, tugging the front of my hood to keep it secure over my head. Drawing out the long-handled blade at my side from its scabbard, it's blade a warm amber orange colour that glowed like a torchlight. It hissed violently against the cold air which had caught the attention of the guardsman, but they said nothing about it as it laid by my side, instead, they rather stared at it with curiosity as well as excitement.

"A sparring bout to prove my worth as a warrior. If I win then I obtain access. If I lose, however, I am to be exiled from this land for a year or so before attempting the trial once more, correct?" I asked. The soldier nodded without hesitation as his sky blue eyes watched me carefully with enthusiasm.

While the punishment may seem unfair to some, I thought that it was likely that they wish for challengers to grow stronger before attempting once more. Fortunately, this was only to gain access within the arena as a warrior itself. If this was how border control for the entire Ferox nation worked, then they'd be surely out of business. Besides, this test was primarily for strangers and travellers, they say that people can understand each other by locking blades in the heat of battle.

"You are well informed." He said as he took in a deep breath before settling into a comfortable stance with his weapon in hand. "No hard feelings I hope."

A small smile tugged at the ends of my lips, I was glad that he didn't seem the slightest bit intimidated by the unique qualities of my rather unusual blade.

The sign of someone who has my respect.

I spared him a quick nod in agreement as I lowered my body to a defensive stance, my sword held towards him in the usual manner of a myrmidon or a swordmaster.

"Let us begin." He muttered with a tone of finality as he charged forward with a powerful thrust of his lance.

* * *

I wiped the icy cold sweat off my brow as I returned my blade back to its scabbard, it's warm light and aura vanished as it disappeared from view. Before me, the guard lay on the snowy ground groaning in defeat, snow was slowly piling on his armor as a multitude of scattered vibrant orange and violet petal flames flickered faintly before disappearing into the wind. He was bruised, probably but alive and conscious.

Nodding in approval of his skills that he had demonstrated during out little spar, I reached my gloved hand out to him as a sign of respect which he gratefully accepted in return as a sign of good sportsmanship; his iron-clad gloves felt cold against my leather ones but the gesture was warm and welcoming.

The match itself was exhilarating, the soldier was obviously very skilled and he didn't spare the thought of holding back on me. I was on my toes to make sure that I didn't get hit.

"Thank you, it was a good match." He bowed once more but before he could react, I returned the gesture which surprised him.

"I have to thank you as well, I am impressed with the unique Feroxi way of fighting you have demonstrated before me, it proved to be quite a challenge." The silver-clad man nodded with a big grin on his face in thanks before motioning me to follow him as he picked up his silver spear and adjusted it on his back.

"You have completed the test, I have deemed you worthy of our Khan's presence. Please, follow me." I thanked the man before following him, leading me into the thankfully warm confines of the fortress.

 _Thank Elmine!_

The hallway were dimly lit as the snowstorm that circled the region blocked out most of the sunlight from the heavenly skies, though a muddled mix of blue and orange blossomed on the stone walls as each pillar were lit by a lasting and bright torch, illuminating a path towards a bright end as the tunnel bridged from a long walk.

The walk was uneventful really, but not in disappointment. It was rather... nice, without a better word to describe it. For the most part, the walk was quiet; the occasional guard that stood there watching us boredly without complaint was a nice change from the sneering and disgusted expressions that I used to often experience as of travelling with my previous group of companions. I was also thankfully able to initiate some small talk with the blond guard from earlier regarding sparring techniques and general suggestions of improvement for each of our own styles of combat, it was nice being able to talk with someone after days of wandering the land alone. There were the occasional windows here and there that was thankfully well protected from the reach of the snow, the wind was also thankfully dimuted, though it's cold embrace still brought a shiver down my spine.

 _I've never really liked the cold... That was rich, considering what I am..._

 _I always wondered how Fiora and her pegasus was able to withstand it on their missions... Then again, she was one of the strongest and bravest of our bunch._

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud cheer of people talking lively deep into the end as the path became more clearer. Two large wooden doors were wide open, revealing a large tavern full of people sharing drinks and telling stories. Maids ran around the place, trying to get every order as well as avoiding the more drunken soldiers who more or less shamelessly tried to flirt with them to no avail. A small smile blossomed on my face as it triggered a familiar memory that made my heart warm up at the sight. The soldier beside me smiled as well at the sight before sighing. "There they go again..." He grumbled, yet the smile on his face betrayed any sort of anger the statement may have held. I chuckled softly in response, "Well, the men need their break every so often, right?" His smile widened ever so slightly as he nodded in agreement. "Heh, I suppose you have a point there."

Finally reaching the tavern, I could feel the immediate difference between the area just outside those thick walls. It was warm and it smelled pretty badly of alcohol, though I didn't really mind it as I had often shared the company some people who liked getting wasted at every chance they get, though I was never one to join them in their drunk crusades as I wasn't a fan of the bitter taste of alcohol. The guard beside me patted my back to grab my attention.

"I'll be back to request the Khan. Please, make yourself at home." I nodded gratefully for his service as I shook his hand in thanks.

"Thank you again." Nodding once more, the man disappeared amongst the crowd, leaving me here on my lonesome as I awkwardly scanned the immediate area. I wasn't much of a drinker, never was, so I generally preferred to avoid bars, though I knew of quite a few that pretty much spent all their time there.

"Heh, Sain would love this place... lots of laughter, girls and alcohol, though I heard that he had married recently, good for him. I suppose Wallace would also fit right into an atmosphere like this," I muttered to myself quietly, hoping not to garner any attention from the locals here to try and encourage me to drink with them. Instead, I walked up to one of the more quiet corners of the tavern, standing silently as I observed the world moving by; some of the maids had asked if I had wanted any drinks but I had politely declined. I was just glad that they asked politely and left me alone to my own devices instead of trying to get hitched with me.

 _It really is different from Elibe, or Bern for that matter._

My attention was suddenly grabbed by a large figure with darkened skin entering the room, laughing. His exposed torso was puffed out pridefully, tufts of animal fur laced through his golden cuffs and collar with an eyepatch to top it off. There was an aura of confidence and strength that flowed from him, his mere presence seemed to liven up the room.

"You there!" He bellowed, catching the attention of all the patrons of the bar as they swivelled their chairs towards me and the man which I would presume to be the reigning Khan, sending their hearty greetings before resuming the conversations with their own groups. I walked up to the man who was accompanied by the blond soldier from earlier; Meeting him face to face, I found out that the man towered over me, or rather, he towered over everyone, yet his presence was rather welcoming than cold and spiteful like many other counterparts that I could list off the top of my head. I bowed my head respectfully before giving my own greetings.

"Greetings, you must be Khan Basilio?" He nodded pridefully before patting my back... and by patting my back, I mean knocking the wind out of me by slamming a hammer to the back.

"That's me. I heard you wanted to speak to me since you were able to beat ol' Alex here, he gestured towards the blue-eyed blond soldier beside him who nodded. "And you can drop the formality act, I prefer plain ol' speech if you get me?"

After gaining my bearings, I nodded in response, "Sure, it's always better like this anyways, it feels like we're dealing politicians here." I joked, which earned a hearty laugh from Basilio and a slight chuckle from Alex.

"I like ya! How 'bout we discuss this over some drinks? They're on the house!"

* * *

"Well, that went pleasantly well..." I said to myself. For people who prided themselves in being warriors, I was surprised at how nice they were in comparison to those from my own home who were disgustingly cocky and condescending dastards, they even understood when I had shared my own experiences with people who were proclaimed to be "proud warriors". It was a nice change of wind.

The sound of my leather boots crunching on fresh gritted snow that piled over the stone grounds resounded through the area as I made my way to the open training field where many native, as well as non-native warriors, practiced their craft against provided dummies, while guardsmen also joined in for a spar. There were few who were just letting off steam or to keep themselves warm, but for me, I was there to practice.

I had been informed that there had been a tournament taking place, oddly enough, later this week and Basilio had asked me to participate in it as one of his warriors, to which I had accepted. He had soon after introduced me to some of his other warriors who would also be participating on the same side as I was. Though there was one person that had caught my attention to detail. A tall and lean man named Lon'qu who exuded a silent but powerful aura with humble confidence and rightly so as he was considered to be Basilio's very own "champion".

He shared a style that was very similar to one of my own friend's as he apparently focused on powerful, precise and quick strikes, though it is apparent that he can also hold up well in the defensive compartment without as much as a gap of an opening to the naked eye, but to someone like me, I can see that there were very few and extremely tough gaps within his art but is carefully removed by using quick successions in attacks to overwhelm an enemy. There was also his fear of women, which was amusing in its own right to observe, though I do feel sorry for the guy when Basilio encourages him to talk to one of the barmaids in the local tavern. Though there was a pink-haired dancer that I had often seen speak to him in a rather normal way, which he seemed _almost_ normal in partaking a casual conversation; perhaps they're a couple?... no that's probably unlikely, Basilio doesn't seem to be the guy to try and ruin someone's relationship, especially if it was someone he had a close friendship and of work-relation to, though he does seem to be the type to mercilessly tease.

Though what surprised me, even more, was the news that he was actually stripped of that title only mere moments I had arrived Regna Ferox before by a man named Marth. While it did intrigue me that this Marth was supposedly skilled enough to take down someone like Lon'qu and was also mentioned to be extremely young, which piqued my curiosity. Unfortunately, Basilio had mentioned that they were often nowhere to be seen or found, so I didn't have the chance to meet them.

Nevertheless, I was listed to be one of his warriors and so I should probably prepare for whatever challenger would face me by ensuring that my senses and techniques remain as sharp as possible if I am to fight at my best.

I pulled out my sunlit blade which hissed violently against the chilled air before quieting down into whispers while steaming lightly, an arc of Tameshigiri before me. The invention of the thick fabric tightly bundled together on a wooden skewer was quite the impressive invention to hear, allowing for it to be used multiple times if approached carefully and it was also apparently pretty easy to make so it would be quite an effective means of practice instead of chopping down trees or challenging the occasional willing traveler I had met during my journeys like I did before.

I had always used a killing edge beforehand as it was the most familiar blade in my arsenal due to it's swift and graceful velocity which can cut down my foes in an instant. I had also learned to use pole-arms and lances due to having only a walking stick to defend myself before I decided to pick up a real weapon. I had soon learned that I - at the time - lacked the lot of muscles to properly train with more heavier weapons, and axes were well out of my reach. As I practiced with a bronze lance in my spare time due to my slight experience gained by fending off enemies with a mere wooden staff, I found myself using slashing techniques more often than that of which are used less frequently when combatants choose to fight with a lance as it was a strong thrusting and piercing weapon; though the effectiveness of such a technique required strength and precision, something that I had yet to master at the time.

Curious as to the reasons behind this, I had learned and studied all about the different aspects in which our weapon's fighting style prioritizes certain elements that are fundamental in making a weapon effective, especially if they are to be pitted against each other. Many of my companions within our little group had come together to study a phenomenon which we had known to be called "Momentum"

While most people knew that putting more force or draw in a swing would result in more power, my peers and I had discovered that there was so much more that we could do to enhance the capabilities of our weapons by specifically weighting certain parts of our weapons to different heights to that of the normal; this also explained the reason why heavy weapons were typically much stronger than that of a normal or light version, as well as axes being the physically strongest out of the three from it's carefully designed imbalance of weight. In time, we had decided to create a prototype for our studies, which was to be a mix of a pole arm and a blade. Mixed with a few enchantments and spells, along with the help of a few royal blacksmiths, our creation was complete.

Thus, the trusted blade which hangs by my side was born into this world.

Steadying my breathing, I began cutting down the bundles of fabric in quick succession despite the weight of the weapon of choice I wielded, though it's weighted design improved more on the aspect of using momentum to acquire more speed and power with control using a well-honed and practiced technique. The creation of my blade was actually suggested by the help of one of my scholar friends named Canas who had pointed out the phenomena of momentum in weaponry despite not being one to have ever handled a blade before.

I paused on my relentless assault on the smoking cinders as my mind travelled back to familiar faces with bright expressions as they cheered together.

... I wonder what they would think if they were able to see me now...

... I wonder what _she_ would think...

Anyways, I'm getting off topic.

Though the weapon was slightly slower than a normal Killing edge as it was a heavy hitting two-handed weapon, I also had the option of the other blade in my arsenal at my disposal which was said to be even quicker than the Killing edge.

Still, it made me feel a little guilty that I would be allowed a weapon such as this with unfair advantageous enchantments and abilities that most other weapons likely wouldn't have, and I was sorry for the poor sod that would have to face me when it would be my turn to take the stage.

I sighed as I realized that all of the Tameshigiri were cut cleanly to their base and burned into cinders that were quickly extinguished by the falling snow. Though I appeared to be deep in thought as I was suddenly brought back to reality by a soft tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I found myself face to face with a young... man? It was hard to tell. Their blue hair hung just above their shoulders with a golden fringed navy blue butterfly shaped mask with a few slits that were most likely purposed to give them the ability of sight. They appeared to bear a primarily navy blue getup with thin thermals and tunics, blue gloves and thigh high boots, an odd fashion statement for a male, sure but who was I to judge someone when I myself was mostly covered in green as well as cream overalls, Khaki and brown underneath the cloak.

I shook myself out of my thoughts as I realized that I must have spaced out for a moment without so much as a response.

"Yes?" I asked as to be the first to initiate the conversation as they seemed rather on edge. I didn't look too frightening when I was practicing, was I?

Have I shaven this morning?... I hope I did... people have told me how weird I look when I had attempted to try a beard. Besides, I find them too difficult to maintain and were kind of itchy at times... I wonder how Hector did it.

"Greetings, my name is Marth. I hear you are one of the soldiers that have offered their services to Basilio for the tournament, am I right?"

My eyes widened as I finally understood that this Marth was the one and the same with the mysterious figure that Basilio had mentioned to me earlier.

 _Huh, a little shorter than I had imagined, but the strength and humble confidence I feel flowing from them surprised me..._

However, observing their figure and posture, I could tell that there was a heavy weight that has been placed on their shoulders...

I nodded in confirmation, "Yes, I am. My name is... Mark." Marth seemed to brighten up at that for whatever reasons unknown as his mouth hung open slightly in surprise.

... that probably isn't a good sign.

"Uncle Mark?..." He muttered to himself without the intent of me picking that up. Unfortunately for them, I _did_ pick it up on it which only served to confuse and bewilder me as I tried to process any bits of information I could but only got to dead ends.

Though there was only really one way to start.

" _Uncle_?" I asked, unsure if what I heard was correct or not... though it's not like I would know what I would do if it was, in fact, their uncle. If they truly were my nephew of sorts, I would have likely known about it considering their age.

Don't tell me my brother or my sister had a child like this... Actually, I know that one of them does but they definitely don't match their description.

The bluenette appeared to be shocked that they let that slip out as they immediately clamped their mouths shut.

I continued to stare at them, pondering what sort of relation I actually had to this _Marth_. "Um..."

They were quick to pull their act together but I could still sense the uneasiness behind the stoic mask. "I apologize, I must have gotten you mixed up with someone else." They quickly covered up, waving their hand dismissively, though I wasn't fully bought on it as it was probably a half-arsed attempt at changing the topic, though I decided to go with it as I believed that continuing that line of thought would only lead up to a massive headache.

"Is Lady Lyn here then?" They blurted out without thinking and immediately regretted it as he grew flustered and fumbled aimlessly.

I could only stand there, staring at the boy with a blank and dumbfound expression on my face as my lips struggled to form the question my mind tried to piece together.

"What... did you say?"

They seemed to be put on even more edge as they slowly backed away with a seemingly confused expression on their faces, "Wha-?"

My expression immediately darkened. The air around me chilled as my muscles stiffened. Pupils had shrunk as my piercing stare was fully laid upon him. " _How_ do you know that name? _Why_ did you say that name?" I snapped coldly as they were backed up to the fortress' cold stony exterior, isolated from the rest of the people in the training area who were lucky enough to not follow the two.

"L-lady L-Lyn, o-of E-elibe... y-your w-wife?" I flinched at that last word as I could only stare into the small slits of their mask, the faintest traces of sky blue beneath it before turning my head away in regret. My heart pounded painfully as I recalled the bloodied and dirty face of my only love. Her weak body held in my arms, yet a single hand stroked my cheek gently; tears rimming the edges of her beautiful emerald green eyes, yet her forest green hair was matted with dirt, sweat and blood.

 _"... I'm sorry... I wasn't able to keep our promise..."_

 _"I love you."_

"You don't know... do you?" Marth tilted their head in confusion, yet fear was prominent through their expression as his lips quivered nervously.

"W-What do you mean?" The simple question made me grit my teeth harshly in anger as my knuckles turned ghostly white before my gaze turned into remorse and shame as I couldn't stand to look at them anymore.

"Lyn is dead."

The whole world seemed to stop then, I felt like I stood there for an eternity as the dawning of a terrible realization came across their features, their mouths wide agape, their whole body shook before bringing their hands to their head, clutching it in pain and disbelief as though they struggled to process the information given to them.

"N-no... It... It can't b-be..." Their breaths became ragged and out of sync, hyperventilating somewhat as they rushed past me to who knows where; though I made no attempt to follow, nor did I think about why they would be affected in such a way as I sank to my knees, defeated.

My exposed figure was met with the cold and gentle snowflakes that layered over my hood before melting into the green fabrics that chilled my body to the bone. I started to punch the walls as hard as I could until my knuckles started bleeding lightly from under my gloved fingers, cursing myself for being so weak until cold tears ran down my cheeks.

I continued kneeling there, lost to the world as my forehead rested upon the cold gritted and worn stone which did little to provide me comfort for the loss that I am still trying to get over to this day.

 _Lyn... I'm sorry..._

* * *

 _ **(Robin)**_

I took a deep breath to steady myself as a small migraine passed through my skull irritatingly. "Dammit..."

We had just been told to serve as Khan Flavia's warriors with Chrom leading the charge as her "champion". Chrom, being the nice guy he was accepted the offer to provide the shepherd's services to help Khan Flavia, though he was no fool to think that this wouldn't grant his country any benefits, winning this battle would earn an entire nation on their side to fight against the rule of the Mad King of Plegia, a prize that was essential to ending the long history of bloodshed and madness.

There was also the possibility that perhaps he was also itching to have a battle with some of the native Feroxi warriors that the land of Ferox had prided themselves on.

I wasn't particularly annoyed that we were practically forced into doing her bidding. It would be expected that such a heavy price would require hard work from our end, though I suppose that earning their help would require the promised services of their own, no?

It would unite our regions under a friendly relationship as many would expect and it would most likely be a long lasting one as our two nations shared many similarities in terms of the protection of peace for our people, yet I couldn't really bring myself to deal with politics. I was lucky that my status as the tactician of the army didn't extend to the entirety of Ylisse's forces.

Nevertheless, it was explained to us that each side was to have _five_ challengers assigned for five independent and separated matches. Though the other four were merely just for reputation and show, the important match lies within the champion's stage; Chrom and Marth's battle.

I still could remember the mysterious boy who saved Lissa's life from our first encounter with the risen on the first night since my awakening near Ylisse's native forests. As much as I was curious as to who lies behind the mask that he wore, it was a secret, and secrets were meant to be kept.

Besides, I suppose I would be considered to be a hypocrite if I were to judge him on his choice of actions.

Though I was still relatively new then as Chrom's tactician for his army called the shepherds, though it was more like a ragtag private military group led by the prince of Ylisse himself. I was apparently deemed good enough in tactics and combats to be the group's mind.

I currently found myself walking alongside Chrom to our prep room, as we discussed the general rules for our battles since tactics won't particularly come too much in handy in one on one situations, these battles were designed to test our strength and skill when dealing with an opponent.

Since the time he and Lissa had found me on that field, I couldn't have been more grateful for having him accept me within his group. It... it was nice, to be wanted for just, me. I've made a lot of friends and people who liked being around me. I couldn't repay him for his kindness, for helping me up whenever I found myself asleep in the library or when I was working on my strategies in the late of night. I had grown to learn what it takes to be a leading force behind this small army that he had trusted me with. I was unsure at first but he assured me that he would be beside me at every step of the way, he had even made a sappy speech about how we were two halves of a whole. It was amusing sure, but it meant more to me than anyone could know.

And I had to make sure that I do my part in being strong, like him.

For the battles that we were to compete in, I had chosen to settle on having Chrom, myself, Kellam, Vaike, and Sully as our main candidates for the battle, seeing as long-range fighters would most likely be put in a disadvantage as they had limited space to distance themselves from close range fighters, not to mention their below average defence capabilities. Miriel and Virion's light clothes and thin frames could attest to that conclusion, though that wouldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be ranged fighters as well, though I decided to pick the safe option of using our more well-rounded options and gave them tips on how to handle any ranged units.

From there I decided that having so it was simply a matter of picking who was the best in one on one, close range wise, so we couldn't expect support from any allies who watched from the sidelines.

I had originally opted to let Stahl take my place but Chrom had practically forced me into taking the role with that damned perfect smile of his, accompanied by his surprising skill at applying a frightening amount of pressure on a bookworm like me.

"So, do you think you're good to go?" Chrom asked me as we stopped at a large wooden doorway, lit up at both ends by torches as familiar laughter and talking could be heard inside. I nodded as I checked that the straps on my iron sword were held in place, safely secured within its scabbard as well as my trusty fire and lightning tomes which were kept within the confines of my coat's inner pockets. I also had a few elixirs lined up on the opposite end of my belt which held my sword.

"Yeah, I think so... I'm still bitter that you made me do this though, I had a book Sumia had given for me to read from that massive wagon of books that you gave her a while ago and I was looking forward on reading the next chapter, it was getting good." I complained in faux anger as I crossed my arms before pouting. Speaking of which, I noticed that she wasn't here. I knew that she wasn't the best with crowds considering that there would be much more opportunities to make a mess and embarrass herself in front of people who didn't know who she was, and I understood that perfectly. Though, knowing her, she'd probably come back running in and falling over to witness Chrom's match with Marth, though the thought of it also made my heart race with excitement to see Chrom fight. He chuckled heartily before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and apologizing once more, though I was quick to forgive the man.

The night was beginning to settle in as the sun fell behind the mountains of the horizon. The skies cleared to reveal a dazzling array of sparkling lights as the monstrous blizzard from earlier had decided to move its path of mischevious mayhem elsewhere, a clear sky coming into view from the large windows that graced Ferox's corridors.

The moonlight had cast a calm and serene light, providing a silent but tranquil atmosphere in the quiet halls as the two of us would be tasked with one of the most important jobs in our whole careers so far.

"Well then, let's not keep them waiting shall we?" He opened the door, motioning for me to enter first. I giggled in response to his gentlemanly behaviour and decided to play along, making sure that no-one would see us, ensuring that no rumours would arouse from our banterous behaviour.

"Why thank you, good sir!" I remarked playfully as the two of us made our way towards the arena. It was an inside joke of ours when we had an argument about being "ladylike" or "gentlemanly" but we had since gotten over it.

Upon reaching there, I felt as if my ears would be permanently damaged from all the screaming and cheering that originated from the crowd accumulated of more than a thousand people that watched on above us which made me wince in pain as well as nervousness. Before us was the fighting grounds in which we would do battle with our opponents. A firm yet fine dirt floor with a plethora of pillars supporting the circumference of the arena's gallery, though there were a few broken fragments of marble that lay strewn and littered across the floor. Torches set ablaze between the pillars as the flames roared to life, the flickering tips of the flame wisping wildly as it flailed around like an untamed beast feasting upon the charred sticks of wood.

On two opposing ends that were stationed above the crowd, two chairs sat across from each other. The Khans' seats were built to be seated from the highest vantage point of the arena so they had the "Best" view of the battle. The two Khans emerged from the tunnels that led to their grand appearance as Flavia took her seat while Basilio stood, waiting for the people to let him speak as the crowd settled so he could perform his duties as Regna Ferox's current standing Khan.

"Tonight, we hold the annual tournament to decide which Khan reigns supreme over Regna Ferox, our prideful land of warriors!" He exclaimed, causing the crowd to cheer in agreeance with the man as he laughed heartily, opposite him, Flavia had a small grin on her face as she nodded in agreement on the fact.

"I'm sure you are all excited for the exhibition of matches this evening, especially the clash between our chosen champions!" The arena was filled with excitement and cheers as the people discussed their opinions on who would take the stage for their entertainment.

"Though I will not spoil any specific details of our guests, I can say that tonight will be one of the most heated and magnificent spectacles of our lives!" He boasted as the room livened up once more and once more did I need to cover her ears in slight annoyance, though I had to admit, I was pretty excited as well. Though I often spent my time in the planning room or tent when we were travelling, I do take pleasure in getting into the heat of battle, especially with those with unique fighting styles which often helped give me inspiration for a new tactical idea though the way they move, counter or attack.

I could probably go on... but I won't for your guys' sake... as well as the author's I suppose, he seems pretty tired.

Basilio clapped his hands loudly to silence the crowd as he nodded to a blond soldier that stood behind him, he bowed respectfully before turning to leave as the large man returned his attention to the people before him, his fist raised high with excitement and pride.

"Let us now begin the battles!"

"And may the best warriors prevail!" Khan Flavia added as the ceremonies began with a loud cheer and applause, drowning the arena with noise.

* * *

"Hmm, who do you think is going to win this battle, Robin?" Chrom asked me, which snapped me out of my thoughts as I closed the book I was reading beforehand and placed it away carefully in my travelling satchel before walking over to my blue haired friend, leaning over the railings to find Vaike squaring off against a brunette myrmidon.

He definitely appeared to be quite the skilled swordsman and definitely a master of his art, I could only wonder about the possibilities that a unit like him would open up on the battlefield. The shepherd's local muscle head Vaike, on the other hand, was only getting angrier at the myrmidon as he hacked and slashed at him to no avail as he effortlessly sidestepped and flipped backwards from his heavy but imprecise attacks. I sighed before leaning my head onto my propped hand as I watched the swordsman move, his fluid way of attacking Vaike appeared to the natural to the normal eye, yet I could see all the subtle shifts between his body and footwork to gain the right angle for a strike immediately.

"Hellooo... Robin, are you in there?" Chrom waved a hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my "Miriel Mode" as the shepherds liked to call it, though Miriel wasn't one to "take offense at such trivial matters" The shepherds decided it would be more fun to poke it at me when I practically analyzed everything to do with combats and tactics as she would at moments like these; though it was, of course, all in good fun, and it made me glad that they accepted me into their merry group when I was just a stranger to them.

"* _Sigh*_ No, Chrom. Robin's out right now." He chuckled at the remark. I smiled myself, proud at the joke I had made. Even if it wasn't the most original one, I did find it one of the most humorous and classic ones.

"Is that so? Can I ask where she is then?" I snorted at his reply as I covered my mouth to contain my giggles. After our laughter died down, I continued to stare off into the distance as my mind traveled back to an interesting individual I had encountered beforehand as they had preoccupied my mind before Chrom had called me up with him.

It was back when we had first been introduced to the halls of the Feroxi castle where I had stumbled or rather, bumped into a man that wore a large green cloak and scarf that was draped over his body. A hood worn over his head like my own, yet his eyes were hidden behind the ruffled length of his bangs. While the impact of my confusion induced panic had managed to knock me over to fall on my behind, he only took a step backwards in slight shock. His large green hood fell back to his shoulders, revealing his messy head of cyan blue; it was quite the uncommon hair colour if I do say so myself, but I had no reason to judge. Yet what drew me in was his unique crimson red eyes that fell upon mine upon meeting each other's gazes.

Eyes that were similar to my own.

I had soon after apologized for my carelessness for not being aware of where I was going. He simply smiled before offering a hand to help me up in which I gratefully accepted the offer.

His hand, despite being gloved, felt warm and inviting. I could feel my cheeks heat up slightly as I glanced over his facial features which he had also - unfortunately - noticed as he also blushed in-kind response before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, a goofy grin was set upon his lips as we stood there to chat for a few moments.

He was kind enough to show me around after our traded apologies despite seemingly being a foreigner himself to the land of Regna Ferox. Questions started to fill up in my brain as I followed the image of his back throughout our walk of the arena. Thankfully, I was able to be left with the remainder of my friends and colleagues once we found the shepherd's allocated rooms for our stay here before he departed soon after saying our goodbyes.

Surprisingly, I hadn't even remembered to ask for his name; perhaps I just didn't have the courage to ask.

Though I was surprised to see him later appear as one of Basilio's warriors for his side of the event when we were all called to the stage for whatever reason, yet everything about him was still a mystery.

I couldn't exactly pay attention to all the other combatants that stood beside him as my job would suggest but I couldn't tear my curious eyes away from him.

Much to my surprise, he also stared back.

At first glance, I could tell that he looked different...

Actually, that was probably a dumb way of explaining that given point, as most of the warriors participating in this event were mostly foreigners from different lands, choosing to test their skills against fellow warriors and to compare their styles and technique of fighting.

What I meant was that his clothing appeared to be rather... unusual for the typical _traveller_. In fact, it shared the appearance of my own aesthetic in many ways. Though his large cloaked covered most of it, I recognized the cream shirt he had worn as well as the cloth that hung from his waist to his knees, the belt that wrapped around his torso and below areas down to his shoes.

There were a few differences that I had noticed however as some of his wardrobe appeared to have been modified to a more travelling preferred appearance by the tufts of fur that poked out from the ends of his gloves, shoes and waist belt along with his boots being more situated for durability and flexibility than my ones, though they still worked well under stress and harsh conditions.

Not only that, but the aura that he exuded from our first encounter left me curious. The general air around him seemed to hold a calm, kind and gentle presence, yet it also held a strong, respectful and commanding contrast that seemed to blend together into a most curious man. Not to mention the two unique blades that he had beside him, yet I found his features to be more interesting at that moment for whatever reasons I wasn't fully aware of.

A single glance at him only served to make more questions.

The image of our first encounter flashed once more in my mind once more as I kept asking myself the question of who he was.

Though... there was something that had always bothered me when I looked at him.

That smile that he had worn. the heavy bags under his beautiful red eyes...

His whole act... it looked kind of forced.

Like he was suffering.

"So, _again_. Who do you think is going to win?" Chrom asked, snapping me out of my thoughts once more. I rolled my eyes at the seemingly easy question.

"I think it's pretty obvious that Basilio's former champion Lon'qu will win this, I mean, Vaike is too clumsy in his footwork and is too narrow minded. He gets ticked off easily when he isn't able to deal any hits and in this case, he hasn't landed any yet. All the better ones were parried and blocked by the brown haired guy down there. It's also apparent that the Myrmidon knows what he is doing and is taking advantage of that despite the heavy lead in combat differences, his style simply beats his. While Vaike has potential in terms of how proficient he is in handling an axe, Lon'qu seems to be leagues ahead of him, plus he has the weapon advantage." Chrom simply sighs but the same brilliant smile still persisted on his face even after her lengthy analogy.

"It's good to hear that you're still as sharp as ever Robin, though I can't wait to see how you fare against your own opponent!" He added playfully with a devious grin. My face paled at the mention of my match as I fiddled my thumbs around anxiously, hoping to avoid him having to see the sweat that's dropping at an increasing rate from my skull as I laughed nervously.

While I wasn't one that was typically afraid of combat nor battles in general, I always did have the problem of overthinking the possibilities of opponents I would have to face, though this problem was most prominent in one on one battles where it depended on my skill alone in pure combat. There wasn't much I could do other than fight as best as I could, but there was a difference between beating a foe that is better than you in one on one combat and that of a large scale battle. I suppose that I had the extra advantage of being able to quickly identify small quirks and holes within a stance or battle, skill and technique are needed to be able to pull it off successfully.

There was also the fact that, while I'm not the best sword fighter around, I was indeed proficient in magic and luckily enough, I was allowed to use such methods of combat as previous combatants did before the current match.

Nevertheless, there would likely be a good number of people that know some tricks to deal with magic users like myself and I couldn't help but think of what kind of unique strategies they would use against me. Then again, an experience like this would likely help me learn more about tactics which were what Chrom basically sold me on.

I sighed before turning to him. "So, when's my match?" I asked tentatively, "I wasn't really paying attention to the others, so I don't know how many fights are left." He seemed to think about it for a moment before having to resort to using his fingers, I wasn't really aware of how many of us battled as I was probably too busy reading into Sumia's book that I had been putting into good use for the first one or two matches. It was called Wyvern Wars: Terror at High Noon, I believe.

It was good; I mean, really good.

"I think you're next." He finished with a smile, my jaw dropped to the floor in surprise and fear. He patted me on the back as the crowd suddenly cheered due to Vaike falling flat on his face in defeat, unable to move his limbs while Lon'qu was declared the winner of the bout before he left the scene immediately and quietly. Being the resilient and tough customer that Vaike was, he had to be dragged out of their end of the arena by Sully and Kellam as he barked and growled for a rematch with the man, yet the silent myrmidon had escaped out of earshot.

I slapped my face wearily with my gloved hand as I groaned in annoyance, yet at the sight of my dreaded hand I stopped and paused. The hand which - to no-one else's knowledge of - was imprinted with a strange violet marking that had six eyes which were intertwined by a two lines running down both sets of three before forming a merciless and deadly point at the end. It sent a shiver down my spine just thinking about it as well as the fact that it brought up some rather unpleasant emotions for reasons I myself weren't too sure on.

I clutched my hand shakily, staring at the intricate designs on my leather gloves before tightening my fist to feel the comfort of its texture before it vanished within the comfortable confines of my trusted cloak, Chrom gave me a concerned glance.

All I could think of was the purple mark that embellished on the back of my hand. It's six eyes watching me, judging me as I couldn't do anything to shake its gaze.

"Are you okay, Robin?" My head snaps towards him nervously as I realized that I must have accidentally let that sliver or weakness slip.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine... I suppose I should get going." He nodded in understanding, thankfully letting the topic slide without much thought, whether that was a good or bad thing, I did not know. He patted my back reassuringly before holding out his fist. In which I held mine up in response as a symbol of our trust, our friendship.

 _He is... my friend._

 _A friend, yes, that's it._

 _We're two halves of the same whole, right?_

"Good luck." He said, his thumbs held up in an encouraging manner, eliciting a small chuckle out of me as my fears vanished into the air for a breath of fresh air.

"Thanks."

The walk through the tunnel that led to the arena was fairly uneventful, yet the dreaded silence was nerve wracking at the same time. The butterflies in my stomach were starting to get the better of me as I tried to calm myself by practicing a few breathing techniques inscribed in a book I found within the confines of the Ylissean royal library.

While I wasn't completely sure about who I would have to face in my match, I had a good idea of who it was likely going to be.

As Khan Flavia had put it; our matches were determined by what the council, or rather, Khan Flavia and Khan Basilio think would be the most entertaining for the crowd to watch. Though I had to admit, it was quite ironic and humorous that the _great and mighty Vaike_ would fall victim to an enemy that pretty much contrasted what he had always preached about. It wasn't that I particularly disliked the guy, but his constant showing off and flirting with women - especially with me - annoyed me, luckily he backed off after being rejected, I dunno, a thousand times? Even his weird habit of referring to himself in the third person was quite... unique.

Though I can't say that I should be allowed to particularly judge him, that was what made him, _him_ I suppose. Whatever history he had that made him like that was probably something that won't see the public eye for a long time, though I had heard from Chrom that he had quite a rough life growing up.

My attention was brought back to reality as the bright light at the tunnel's end came into view.

 _Tap... Tap... Tap..._

... Hmm.

I stopped at the entrance in which I stood in the dark, though I was luckily noticed by the referring judge of our match who nodded to me in greeting as I did the same. The heat of the crowd livened once again which served as my cue to step out into the light.

I could see a blur of green gain resolution as he approached the stage from the other tunnel of the arena, much to my surprise/ expectancy. We both stood at the gates of our entryway as I merely stood there, unsure of what to do. The hooded, on the other hand, unclasped his large green cloak from his neck and folded it neatly before placing it on the ground beside his feet. Revealing the same face that I had met since days ago. He moved to performed some minor stretches to ensure that his body remains in its peak condition which exposed his lean but toned arms and torso.

I couldn't help but try and fail to hide my blush at this as I could only stare at him. I had experienced people shirtless before, heck, Vaike does it all the time, yet I wasn't sure why he had such an effect on me, even when he was wearing a sleeveless cream shirt that bore an uncanny resemblance to my own.

His body focused in much more detail the various scars that littered across his arms were defined clearly, his eyes wandered around the stadium before landing his gaze back to me and he smiled that weary smile, which I returned shyly. My naturally superior eyesight was something that I couldn't decide on whether it was a burden or a gift, however, I really couldn't complain about the sight in front of me, much to my chagrin.

The soldier who was appointed to be the judge for the battles motioned for the two of us to meet at the middle. I once again checked that I had everything that I needed available with me, held securely and safely hidden in my coat's cover. I, unlike him, kept my cloak on as a natural preference. It gave me a sense of warmth and control during the heat of battle, even if something as thick as my cloak would be deemed inefficient to some people, I felt like it helped me focus, along with the added benefit of being able to hold more weaponry and hidden items.

Walking over, I was met face to face again with the man who was at the forefront of my mind for quite a while now. He stared at me curiously, yet his crimson eyes flashed a sign of recognition and remembrance as I did much the same.

I wasn't able to tell but apparently, I was shaking quite a bit from what was most likely the pressure of hundreds upon hundreds of eyes watching me carefully, with high expectations. I exhaled slowly which caused him to shoot me a genuinely concerned look, his smile turning into a frown as his crimson red eyes watching me cordially and carefully.

"Hey, are you alright?" I flinched in response before hastily trying to come up with an excuse for my rather inappropriate behaviour.

"U-uh, y-yeah, I'm fine..." I internally face palmed at my own fluster.

He nodded in understanding before giving me a reassuring smile that helped alleviate some of my fears, though the pressure and expectation that was placed on my shoulders still felt heavy despite the overall significance of this match is just for show and recognition.

He moved forward to place a comforting hand on my shoulder, his scarred arm full in view.

"I get it, really. Even if this is just an exhibition match, the simple yet heavy thoughts of people's opinions can weigh you down and that's understandable... But think of it like this; this is _just_ a match between _us_. Nothing more, nothing less. I am your opponent now, but I won't think any different of you whether you win or lose, so just do your best, okay?" The confident yet wise and reassuring words were like a breath of fresh air to me. Perhaps I am exaggerating but I felt like I was freed from the shackles of my own fear and subconsciousness, my mind felt clearer than it was before; the outside world and cheers of the people vanished and tuned out of my mind. He smiled at me when he noticed the change in my attitude.

I smiled my own warm smile at him before nodding confidently, "Thanks, really."

He chuckled before turning around to put a few meters of space between us, "No problem."

Nodding in approval of our little heart to heart, the referee soldier placed up a hand that pointed towards the very skies as if asking for permission from Naga above to approve of this match.

My eyes had hurriedly scanned over his body... no, not in that way. His posture was well fixed and confident, yet his expression was hard to tell behind his long bangs and hair. Though I couldn't see through those bangs to his eyes, I could tell he was watching me in the same way. His sword was definitely an interesting factor in this battle, though I had spotted the shorter blade that hung close to his side. I had no idea of how he would wield such a thing, though I only had a few guesses. There was an aura around him that gave off a mysterious and unpredictable feeling, it was unsettling to say the least. However, the smile on his face instilled confidence within myself as I couldn't help but smile back.

He truly was an enigma.

"Without further ado, with both of our contestants are ready. The Ylissean Shepherd's Tactician, Robin and the Mysterious Wanderer Mark."

"May the battle... Begin!"

* * *

 _Log 1 - Regna Ferox_

 _Today marks the first day in which I set foot in a new land from my own._

 _While it had been quite an enjoyable experience since arriving here by... *ahem* that is of no importance._

 _I was sent here on a mission. A mission provided to me for what may or may not be for the "Good of Mankind" Crap again._

 _I'm getting really tired of this... though, I still have the responsibility of protecting my friends, so I suppose I'll just have to deal with it some way or another._

 _As to why I am here in the first place._

 _I'm meant to find someone, The fell dragon's vessel._

 _What for? Well... I'm afraid I can't say._

 _Sorry._

 _While I was given no specifics on what they should look like or what kind of clues would lead me to them, I was still given the task to complete anyways._

 _Gee... Thanks a lot, Naga._

 _So much for a supposed god..._

 _I often wonder to myself, is it worth departing from the land in which I call home, parting away from my family and friends who had helped me through my darkest times._

 _To disappear into the depths of the unknown once more._

 _But then I remember..._

 _I remember why I came here in the first place..._

 _-o-_

 _Dear Lyn._

 _How are you?_

 _Me?_

 _I've been better myself, though, it has been no easy feat to decide to leave Elibe to the capable hands of my friends. I hear Kent is handling Castle Caelin well enough to be named as the Marquess when I had turned down the title myself._

 _I know I had to leave, and sure I may have done so many times on our own adventures..._

 _But this is different..._

 _I... I didn't want to leave... I didn't want to leave you._

 _But, this is something that I needed to do._

 _It was something that I needed to do for the both of us... Though..._

 _I..._

 _Today, I had an unfortunate reminder of one of the most painful and tragic experiences that I had been forced to remember in my pitiful existence._

 _The memory of your blood being spilt by a creature with six wicked crimson eyes, a black and purplish scaly hide and twisted longhorns adorned on the sides of it's head as your body was impaled by the twisted and cursed spikes from hell_

 _You never deserved to go out like that._

 _Yet you still wanted to keep fighting._

 _I shiver at the thought of that wretched beast that took you away from me._

 _I'm trying my best to deal with it like you said... but..._

 _It's hard..._

 _I miss having you by my side, holding my hand as we watched the grassy plains of Sacae move with the wind._

 _No... no, it's not your fault, it's mine._

 _As shameful as I am to admit it, there were times that I just want to end it all._

 _I just wanted to see you again..._

 _So badly..._

 _I'm so sorry..._

 _I love you_

* * *

 **Author's note: (Hopefully the next ones won't be as long but it's important nonetheless)**

 **Hey guys, this was a story that I had thought up of a while ago since I had started my Fanfiction journey so I had thought that it would be best to release it before I lost motivation for it after all of the plot detail I had already come up with.**

 **Now, first of all; as many of you have noticed. This "Mark" (Which I have decided to have a different name for him later) is a lot different from the typical standing aside tactician character. Instead, he plays a more combative role but still retains his tactician like elements.**

 **On another note; I know, I know. Deciding that Lyn was gone in this setting was a really tough decision for me too, though I think that it can tie into a lot of interesting events that can happen later on in the story.**

 **I suppose I should apologize for the small lecture on physics when I explained the main function of the blade. The sword is a personal favourite of mine and I really wanted to include it in the story.**

 **So, the blade that I had described early on in the story is called a "Nagamaki" blade which is the type of katana that have a handle which is nearly as long as the blade itself; though the extra details are just there to make it seem more interesting. It's also enchanted I guess, though of course, it's not necessarily a "Legendary Weapon" or anything close to that, it's merely a unique blade with special (but not game-changing) properties made by himself and co from Elibe, nor does he have access to any of the other Divine weapons of Elibe. Also, the other blade he has in his arsenal is a Sol Katti as a gift from Lyn. I also intend to give him a particular skill that will make him seem more interesting and of course, he has a unique class which will be explained later on in the story when it becomes relevant but he can use a sword and a tome like a regular tactician.**

 **There's also the note that Mark has more connections and participation in the history of the Elibean chronicles in FE7 and I hope to make his role relate more towards Robin's side in Awakening. (also there are some big hints as to who his family is, huehuehue, I just really like them so I thought, why not?) It should also be noted that this story - while it still follows most of the main events in FEA - will have a slightly different story to Robin's backstory and future role.**

 **Please tell me if there are any criticisms you would like to share about this story, any tips would be appreciated to help me be a better writer. Though I do ask that if it's something Negative, you provide some reasonable evidence or suggestions to help turn it around. Also, let me know if I accidentally change the use of pronouns since I had grown used to writing in 3rd person for my other stories and had already needed to proofread it multiple times to make sure that I didn't get it wrong.**

 **As for updates, I'm not sure how consistently I'll be updating this as I am primarily focusing on my other story but I'll do my best to at least get it out whenever I can and I'll be sure to let you guys know if I am not able to update for a brief period of time.**

 **Next chapter, there will most definitely be a fight scene between the two and I hope you guys are as excited for that as I am.**

 **Thanks for reading**

 **Ignis**


	2. Robin vs Mark

_Log 2 - Elebian Series_

 _Lyn and I have continued to stay in the plains of Sacae after we had warded off the bandits._

 _Or rather, she did, while I gave her pointers on what she should do._

 _It was strange._

 _When I commanded her on the field, it felt so natural, yet so distant at the same time, like it was a habit that I had obtained before I had lost my memories._

 _Perhaps I would be able to regain them sooner than I thought._

 _But nevermind that._

 _Lyn was kind enough to continue to let me stay within her Ger, though we agreed to split up the room for privacy sake._

 _While I took a smaller portion of the room since I was the one staying in the Ger that was rightfully listed as her property, she argued that I should be given half._

 _It was a long day._

 _While I won out in the end from my stubbornness, but it was nice to see that she cared about me._

 _After all, I was just a stranger to her... no, I suppose we're more like acquaintances now._

 _Maybe friends?_

 _There wasn't much that I could do except wander about, though after all Lyn has done for me, It wouldn't be fair to just leave her all alone._

 _I decided to help her around the ger, doing simple tasks such as collecting firewood and hunting some boars for food._

 _I had also found out that I was quite skilled at stitching clothes, an interesting skill but useful nonetheless._

 _During one of our hunts, we had encountered a large boar. The two of us were able to take it down with minor difficulty and brought it home._

 _I had found out that Bear meat was incredibly delicious, even if it's initial scent was quite unpleasant._

 _It was nice... spending time with her like this._

 _She was very kind towards me and she was more than happy just to chat about whatever topics we could think of._

 _Apparently, she didn't know much more than I did except for her knowledge of the plains and some stories of a place called Caelin when she was a child._

 _She also told me some old stories, those were always fun._

 _Though it was unfortunate to hear of what had happened to the Lorca clan, it was painful to see the strong and prideful woman I know cry tears of remorse and regret._

 _To think that such a kind and strong girl would be left all on her own, and no one wanted to help her because of her race._

 _It honestly disgusted me that the world worked in such a way._

 _It was then that I figured that I would choose to stay, not through the sense of obligation but to be her friend._

 _It was amazing, seeing her smile so brightly when I told her of this, it made me feel..._

 _Happy._

 _It's been a few days since that had happened._

 _Though, there was something about the way she looked at me that I had noticed recently..._

 _Her emerald gaze held something hesitant, something that she was too pensive to ask._

 _I even noticed her sit up from her bed to look at me from time to time when she believed that I was sleeping. It was unsettling, to say the least._

 _Though, I decided not to push her._

 _I think it is important for her to learn that she can trust me with whatever she needs._

 _I am her... friend, after all._

 _I just hope that it's nothing bad..._

* * *

 ** _(Mark)_**

As the soldier threw his hand down, the both of us drew our weapons of choice with the intention to achieve first blood. Her, a tome and me, my blade.

My eyes narrowed as I quickly glanced over the cover of the tome my opponent was holding. Its cover was a faded yellow in colour; there were a few ink marks that stained the front, though I was also able to manage to make out the small and simple golden outline of a small thunderbolt that was embellished on the front of the canvas. Blinking, I filed away the information of my opponent's current available weaponry in the back of my head. She appeared to have a normal thunder tome handy, though it'd be wise to test how proficient she is at it before making any actions and decisions that could potentially cost me if I were to act irrationally.

Drawing my blade, the glowing exterior of the blade's length crackled and sizzled lightly, drawing out the expected reaction of surprising my opponent. I kept my expression passive as I quickly ran over to her position within a second or so, using her shock to make haste towards her while she was distracted. Fortunately for her, she was quick to recover as she quickly chanted the book's traditional spell under her breath, her normally warm chocolate brown eyes flashed a deep crimson that stared deeply into my own as they widened in slight surprise.

An orange and yellow glow surrounded her body, along with crackles of electricity as circles of inscribed magic runes floated freely around her arm before the glyphs twisted and formed extended layers of magic which blasted a light bolt of thunder in my direction. Sidestepping the blast with ease, I continued my approach as she looked at me with slight shock at how little effort I put into avoiding her spell before immediately attempting to cast another. I myself was quite impressed with her abilities she had demonstrated so far.

While she still appeared to be a Novice of sorts, evident by her aura of magic which clung to the exteriors of her body being not yet fully refined; being able to use lightning spells were no easy feat. I myself had difficulty learning how to control the calling of the heavens themselves when I had trained my abilities in the art of magic. I idly wondered how long it took her to learn that particularly crafty spell but I dismissed the thought as I noticed that she was within my blade's reach.

Her expression, while panicked, was controlled. She quickly scanned her eyes around my body before positioning her foot back, her cloak fluttered at the change of motion as a faint silver gleam within the inside of her deep purple coat warned me of an immediate danger.

She grabbed the handle of her iron sword with the hand that was currently housing her charged spell. Gripping it tightly, the blade sparked a bright light as it infused the spell with the blade, though I could see the damage that the spell put on it, though it appeared that she was careful not to damage it too much. She swung the blade in a horizontal arc, with the added charge of her electricity extending its potential reach. Twisting my body, I narrowly avoided her attack; the crackling of electricity was mere inches from my body as my brow twitched at the static that my body now felt that tingled annoyingly on my skin.

My arms and legs moved on its own as I recalled one of my hand to hand practice sessions against Matthew and Legault. The two had brought me to a more private area that was located near the camp when our army had stopped for the night to my request. There was the more than likely chance of having morphs appear to ambush us, though I was confident in Matthew's and Legault's abilities to notify me if there were any threats nearby.

 _"Y'know, Mark, when you said that you wanted us to train you, couldn't you have asked during the day?" Matthew whined as we reached a secluded but protected spot of the area we were in. Ensuring that there were no traces of any pursuers, I sighed before shaking my head. It was lucky that we were able to have Hector on the first watch. As much as the big guy wanted to join in on our training session, he was the most trustworthy to allow Matthew as well as Legault to help me, even if he is still sceptical about the latter of the two, there was also the fact that the guy could probably take on any opposing forces and had a loud enough voice to be able to alert pretty much everybody without too much effort, heck just hearing him make a battle cry would probably be heard from quite a far distance away._

 _"Are you still so insistent on using that name? You know that I was given one by my siblings for a reason. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be a spy; aren't you supposed to be able to keep watch at all times, your work involves that you never let your guard down." The scarlet-scarfed man merely shrugged before resting both of his arms behind his head._

 _"Sure, but like everybody else, I still like my beauty sleep." He joked as the three of us gave a small chuckle._

 _"Besides, I suppose it's just for reminiscence back when you led us when we were still Lyndis' Legion." I smiled and nodded with understanding._

 _"I suppose so, though I do prefer that you call me by my real name if we are around new recruits. The poor souls already have enough to deal with your pranks, Matthew." He held his arms up in defence with a cheeky grin on his face._

 _"Fine, fine..."_

 _I then turned to the ex-black fang member who just walked beside us nonchalantly and watched the two of us with a curious expression on his face._

 _"Are you okay with helping me out, Legault? I wouldn't want to impose on your sleeping schedule if it's a problem as well." The lavender haired man shrugged as well._

 _"To be honest, I don't really mind too much either. There isn't really much that I do in the camp except the occasional chores and even on the battlefield I just settle for killing from the shadows, and that can get a bit boring; though I think it'll be fun to teach you our ways since you are so insistent on it." I nodded._

 _"And I still am." He nodded and gave me a malicious grin._

 _"Well then, let's have some fun."_

 _Matthew pulled out two of his daggers which were held at his waist. He twirled the blades effortlessly in his hands before pointing one at me. I remain unfazed as the tip of his gleaming dagger was left within mere centimetres from the bridge between my eyes. He smiles. "Confident, I like it." Legault nods in agreement._

 _"Mm, but we are not here to teach him how to use daggers, Matthew." He said as he tossed his cloak aside and adjusted the straps of his gloves. Matthew sighed before nodding in acknowledgement. It was good to see that the two were slowly making progress, I had learned of Matthew's scepticism towards the lavender-haired man upon first meeting him as he was one of the people who knew what assassins and spies like himself were capable of doing. With the help of Lyn and I, we were able to at least have the two have the occasional talk more often when we travelled on foot._

 _"Assassins and thieves like us prefer to keep ourselves light and flexible for the case that we are able to move about more freely and we are more likely to depend less on our weapons than that of the usual soldier." Matthew nodded as he threw the daggers into a nearby tree with an impressive amount of precision as they impacted the same point._

 _"Matthew? If you would." Legault said simply as the brunette haired man rushed me. I quickly discarded my own two blades to the floor with care and brought my fists up in a defensive stance._

 _He pressed his leg forward into the ground which brought his assault to a halt before he raised his left arm in an attempt to strike me. Seeing the incoming attack, I angled my right arm in response to be able to take on a diagonal cross. He smirked as he saw me do this and decided to grab my wrist instead, which caught me off guard. Legault smiled as Matthew exposed my side, which led him to introduce my ribs with his knee. I gasped in pain as he proceeded to punch me in the gut, causing me to fall to the floor with an unpleasant thud. I groaned and rolled over to face the sky as the two looked down above me with cheeky smiles on their faces._

 _"I hate you both..." The two chuckled as Matthew offered a hand out to me, which took me a moment before I accepted it, along with a deadly glare. He laughed even harder as I dusted myself off._

 _"Sorry about that boss, but you said that you wanted to do this." I sighed in defeat as I rolled my eyes._

 _"Yes, I suppose I did." Legault chuckled at my annoyance as he folded his arms._

 _"Learning how to take advantage of expectations and keeping your mind open to all possibilities are why us Assassins are good at picking off any target," Legault explained, in which his fellow assassin beside him nodded pridefully_

 _"That's right, so the lesson is,"_

 _don't be afraid to fight dirty._ The words echoed in my mind as I prepared myself for what I was about to do next.

"Sorry about this," I muttered as she raised her brow in slight confusion. Placing my hand firmly on the ground to prevent a hard fall as well as stabbing my blade into the ground for extra support, I manoeuvred my leg to perform a powerful kick on her wrist but was careful enough to not dislocate it.

 _Our arms and legs, the very body itself._

My action was rewarded with the intended effect of causing my opponent to grunt in pain as her iron sword flew helplessly form her hand and clattered on the ground a good distance away from her.

 _Is one of the strongest weapons in our arsenal._

As she was momentarily stunned, I flipped my body facing away from her as I grabbed my grounded blade and immediately went in for a swing with my blade towards her exposed defence. She dodged backwards and held her wrist. She glared at me with her crimson red eyes before drawing her lightning tome once more.

Readying my blade in response, I rushed her with quick and nimble steps, while she ran to the side, chanting her spell. My eyes widened as I realized that she was going for her sword. I felt a small smile tug on the edges of my lips as I remembered her choosing to duck backwards against my choice of a diagonal strike. While it was a risky option with the possibility of me reading her move and strike forward with a thrust, it provided her with the best benefits out of all her options. One of which, was gaining distance to reach her blade.

Not having another choice, I pursued her in hopes of being able to get in a strike before she picked up her blade. My eyes widened upon seeing her jump and twist her body towards me while we were both still in pursuit of the blade, her hand sparked with electricity as the familiar orange glyphs and runes made an appearance around her body while she was suspended in the air.

"Thunder!" She yelled as she threw a volley of thunderbolts towards me from the base of her palm. I had to stop my approach to roll out of the way, though I was able to dodge the oncoming wave of thunder, she had stalled and slowed my approach, allowing her to reach her Iron sword with a sizable amount of distance between us. Grunting, I readied my sword and waited for her to make the first move, to which she happily obliged.

She ran across the field, throwing another volley of bolts to keep me positioned in the centre while she ran to another angle to repeat the process.

As I was unable to move from the clever trap, I continued to play her game, keenly watching her movements as she continued to throw volley after volley of bolts. A small smile found it's way onto my face as I had found and memorized the small interval between every two or three bolts she shot at me before quickly chanting again. While she did her best to cover up this weakness by chanting while she was in the middle of firing a spell which required a refined amount of concentration, the constant magical output couldn't last forever. While using a low ranked tome, it required less mana to spend when using a spell than one of the higher spells, but it was still there.

Waiting for the small interval to come, I struck the final bolt down before I planted my sword into the ground which gave way easily when it was met with the tip of my blade. My opponent stared at me curiously but continued to chant another spell in preparation for another assault. Grabbing ahold of the pommel of my sword's handle, I gained footing from the small ridge of the blade's guard to propel myself into the air with the help of a little bit of light wind magic to gain more height. The crowd watched in awe as I drew my other blade in my arsenal, which shined gold in colour and had a slick curve. My opponent could only watch as I dived towards her at high speeds. She cursed under her breath as she drew her sword was the spell in her hands died out, seeing that she wouldn't be able to dodge in time if she were to launch an attack right now would be too risky.

Drawing my blade over my shoulder, I swung my blade to be met with her's as our blades overlapped, causing sparks to fly. She appeared to be struggling with the sudden amount of force applied on her from my aerial assault as she fell onto one knee. Seeing an opportunity, I pushed our blades down to lead her into falling forward with her blade below and behind me with an expression of shock and surprise. I flipped my body to manoeuvre behind her, which left her back exposed.

Without as much as a second thought, I drew my blade over my shoulder in preparation to strike but paused as I realised what I was about to do. A chill ran down my spine as I recognised the sense of bloodlust that I drew upon as I saw the image of her back.

What was I doing?

I'm not supposed to kill her... The tight grip on my weapon's handle loosened as I instead decided to kick her back with enough force to send her flying.

As I landed on the ground gracefully beside where my naginata blade was grounded, while my opponent rolled before making contact with the hard dirt floor. She coughed before standing up once more with a stubborn will. As she turned towards me, I could see the faint trail of blood that fell from her nose and mouth, there was also a slight scrape of her arm that was visible as she wiped the blood off. Her crimson red eyes stared into mine, her expression passive, yet unwilling to back down.

I frowned as she picked up her blade once more as well as her lightning tome held within her palm.

I didn't want to continue this.

 _This needs to end._ I thought as I took in a deep breath. My opponent decided to make an approach towards me, charging another lightning spell despite the obvious struggle she was going through. My body found itself moving own as I swung my blade in a wide arc gracefully to rest beside the back of my leg as I crouched and leaned my body forward. Leaning back, my sword arm twirled to point towards the end of my boot. I breathed in once more as the tip of my golden blade resting on top of my outstretched arm as if I was aiming towards her with a bow, my gaze slowly lifted upwards along with the angle of my blade finally resting upon the image of my opponent head-on.

I felt my body liven at the motion, my senses felt clear and my limbs as light as a feather.

"I'm sorry, I'll make this quick."

I imagined a beautiful green-haired woman in blue sky blue garments standing beside me in the exact same position, guiding my hands to match her. Her deep forest green hair was tied up into a ponytail as her emerald green eyes watched me. A pleasant but expectant smile ever on her face as I nodded towards her.

 _Time to end this._

* * *

 _ **(Marth)**_

I was watching from the sidelines, blending into the crowd to ensure that no-one, especially the shepherds recognised me.

While I supposed that I could be training to face against my father, my conversation with Mark had left me with too many doubts and questions which dealt a lot of stress on my mind. I could tell how visibly shaken he was as the mere topic of Aunt Lyn, as I had known him to be a kind man who wouldn't lash out or even yell at someone without good reason, and even then, he was quite generous with his standards of patience. I remembered how gentle and kind he was when he had offered to teach me in my studies back when I was still young and the Valmese war was going on.

He was almost like a father to me.

Back then I was juvenile and childish, though I was made sure that I behaved properly. He was someone who I could act freely around and play with when I got bored at the castle, especially when Father was busy with discussing plans or politics with Robin.

He was smart. Incredibly so. I had heard about all of his exploits from his wife Lady Lyn, even if he didn't admit that he was the center piece to his army's victory against Nergal. He even matched Robin's intellect, possibly even more so due to the difference in experience, though Robin was no slouch in the department of tactics as well and the two had been fighting on equal grounds many times during their various chess games which I was able to witness. Despite finding the game boring myself, it fascinated me that such a game would involve such a high amount of thinking and concentration from both players as their brows were often beaded with sweat.

I could remember his smile every time I asked him a question about his past experiences with Lady Lyn and the rest of his family, which had extended over to the entire band of warriors who fought with him in his fight against Nergal. While it was just the two of them who had arrived first with the intent of helping the shepherds out with the Valmese war from the request of Naga herself, he had promised me that he would be able to introduce me to some of his close friends' children, much to my father's delight. He even had a nephew who was around my age, which quickly changed my father's thoughts about the idea, much to our amusement.

One of my fondest memories of him and Lady Lyn was when he revealed that his name was actually not Mark as I was led to believe. He was actually stuck with amnesia just as Robin did when Chrom had found her on the side of a village's road, though instead, he actually retained no memories about himself, not even his own name. When he was saved by Lyn, she was the one who decided to call him Mark, and that was only the beginning of their adventures together.

When I had asked what his real name was, he only laughed and ruffled my hair before smiling sweetly at me.

 _"Y'know what? How about this. I'll tell you when the war is over and we all live in peace when the bad fell dragon is gone, okay?"_ I remember him saying. Being as naive as I was, I accepted with a cheerful nod and hum of approval.

I stood outside the castle gates and waved to them, mother and father, as well as the rest of the shepherds goodbye as they left to finish off the Valmese war.

I waited in the castle's halls, wandering about as I wondered when they would get back.

I waited and waited.

I read every book in the library and practiced my technique with a wooden sword in hopes of impressing father when he came back.

About two years had passed then and I had missed them as well as my family dearly.

I spent time with my room and played with my sister as we waited for the day to hear that our family had come back, trumpets rejoicing with the whole of Ylisse cheering and we would run into their arms to be held tightly.

That time never came.

They had all died when they had faced the fell dragon.

And I was left alone, with only my sister and my friends to run away from the hordes of Risen that had swept across the city, killing everyone in sight.

I cried, seeing everything I loved perish with the grey thunderclouds looming above the sight of destruction below.

Six glowing red eyes stared at us and laughed, claiming victory.

It was then, that I understood the heavy weight of the burden that I must bear as I picked up Falchion from the ground.

It was up to me to save everyone.

Seeing him again brought me a great amount of joy, though it surprised me that he wasn't accompanied by Lady Lyn when he had entered Regna Ferox. I had rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I had laid my eyes upon him. He wasn't meant to be here yet. If the timeline was truly still intact, then he should have only appeared during the Valmese war. I had shaken my head and shrugged it off, waiting to see how things would play out.

If nothing happened, then there was nothing wrong with just being a little early, was there?

Was there?

It had surprised me when one of Basilio's soldiers had notified me that a man in a large green cloak had applied to fight for him in the upcoming tournament event where the Khans would decide who would preside over Ferox over a certain amount of time through having foreign or native combatants fight each other for sport.

Asking where he was at the moment, he quickly led me to the training grounds where he drew the familiar amber orange blade that reminisced of a falling sunset. I could feel my heart beat faster as I watched him swing his blade with amazing confidence, speed, power and precision. Cutting down the poles of sticks and flax with ease as many even stopped their own training to admire his handiwork.

However, it was when he had let his hood down to do so that I would be convinced to watch.

I hid behind a corner to observe him. He turned his head so I could see his features better, though there was one trait that he possessed that dispelled any other doubts I had.

His crimson red eyes.

All I could think of was...

It was him.

It's really him!

My joy at meeting him once more took over my body as I ran up to him. I quickly realized the position I was in and refrained from making too much of a scene as I slowed my pace. As I reached him, he had his hand on his chin, observing his handiwork, while I had to suppress the urge to hug him.

I tentatively reached out and tapped his shoulder.

An action that I had found myself regretting in so many ways that I couldn't imagine possible.

I had to run away once again.

To find that Lady Lyn was killed crushed me. A woman as kind, beautiful and strong as her to be mercilessly swallowed up whole by the world. I nearly cried my eyes out at the thought of the radiant woman who had taught me so much about both the ways of the sword and life, a close friend and patient teacher, killed. Though I couldn't imagine the pain that Mark was going through.

I could only watch from a distance, muttering to myself that it wasn't true, it couldn't be true, but I was only sent crashing down to reality as I watched him sink to his knees and punch the stone wall defeated, his lost cries reached my ears as he sobbed her name.

I couldn't watch the pitiful sight anymore, I needed to go clear my head.

Hence, why I'm here now.

The fight was an interesting one, to say the least. While it was quite amusing to see Lon'qu fight Vaike, as well as other fights such as Sully and Kellam facing off against warriors I wasn't familiar with apart from some brief introductions.

To see Mark face off against Robin was truly a spectacle to behold. The two had always had a friendly rivalry in terms of a tactical battle back when Mark and Lyn had visited Ylisse, though the two quickly grown to become best friends over the course of the brief moment of peace and of course, the war.

While I was able to witness him spar against many of the shepherds and come out victorious when I was still young, as well as the demonstration earlier on in the week, seeing him actually take on an opponent head-on was scary. He was eerily calm and collected, making sure to avoid any and all mistakes possible while calculating all the options possible. It surprised me that Mark was actually extremely flexible in terms of both his style of combat as well as physically. Lady Lyn had always told me of how Mark used to be a mere novice in the way of the sword when they had taken over Castle Caelin, though I suppose that's what hard work and dedication would do for someone as determined as Mark. I was glad that Robin was able to keep up with him, though it was obvious to see who was winning.

Robin was being pushed back little by little. Mark was effectively applying pressure through the consistent failure of each of her attacks, something that nearly never happened to a perfectionist like Robin. He was extremely agile and quick on his feet, his fighting style actually reminded me of Lady Lyn's own, quick, precise and extremely powerful.

I could see the stress form on her expression as her brow furrowed in frustration, yet she remained calm. I exhaled a small breath, it was good to see this sort of behaviour from the shepherd's tactician as it would be essential to how the future events would play out.

A sudden gasp arose from the entirety of the crowd as Mark flew into the air, using his unique blade to propel himself above Robin. My mouth hung agape and my eyes widened upon laying my eyes upon the sword he drew upon.

"That's-" He dove towards Robin, the faint traces of turquoise ribbons that spiralled from his feet suggested that he had used wind magic to increase his speed as well as steer himself towards his opponent. He was extremely bright when it came to the use of magic, coming up with ways which help furthered the everyday applications of magic. Though it had hurt my head when I had once stumbled in on himself and Miriel having an extremely long conversation about unique applications of different spells while Lyn sat beside him and slept on his shoulder. I always found myself giggling at the sight of the cute pair; a smile fell upon my face as I remembered that particular moment but fell soon after when I had remembered that she was no longer with us.

My fist clenched at the painful reminder but I sighed and returned my attention to the battle.

What happened next intrigued me, as he was able to push down Robin's sword to manoeuvre himself behind her, leaving her back exposed to him.

And he was about to swing his blade.

My eyes widened as he brought up his blade for a strike but stopped upon realizing what that would entail. I breathed a shaky sigh of relief as I saw the brief flash or realization and hesitation in his expression before he settled for kicking Robin into the ground instead, though I winced as she fell on the floor with a notable thud.

Robin stood up once more, albeit shakily, though her expression of fierce determination and unyielding pride was still ever present on her face, while Mark stood beside his grounded sword. She charged at him as an act of desperation, though her crimson eyes conveyed her unwillingness to back down without a fight.

My body tensed as I witnessed Mark move his body into a form that I was so familiar with. One I had seen Lady Lyn perform several times.

A move that I had attempted to learn but fail miserably in every attempt due to the extreme amount of speed, precision and flexibility that was required of a worthy wielder.

The crowd let out a gasp of shock as Mark's image seemingly multiplied in an arc beside him. Truly a terrifying sight, yet what came after was even more of a surprise as they all disappeared in a flash, later reappearing in various angled surrounding Robin as a whirlwind of gleaming blades and green struck various parts of her body, her cloak tearing heavily as Mark continued his unrelenting assault on Robin.

As quickly as it began, he reappeared at the same spot as he was before, facing away from Robin as he skidded along the floor before standing straight to sheathe his blade.

Behind him, Robin stood there with a blank expression before she looked down to find multiple but shallow gashes around her body, with her cloak, unfortunately, cut badly as well. She attempted to move forward but staggered and fell. Noticing this, Mark quickly ran and caught her before she fell, draping her arm over his shoulder gently before looking at the soldier who judged the match. He nodded in understanding before raising his hand into the air before pointing towards Mark's end of the arena.

"Mark is the winner!" He exclaimed as the crowd cheered wildly with a loud series of applause. He bowed to all of them with Robin doing the same, despite being unconscious. He turned to her for a moment before scooping her up bridal style and proceeded to leave the arena, likely in search of the healing facility for his opponent while the crowd continued applauding for the entertaining match. It put a smile on my face to see that he still retained that kind heart after his loss of Lyn, I was afraid that her death would have hardened his heart, but I'm glad that it wasn't the case.

I sighed as I glanced towards the gleaming blade that sat comfortably on the side of my hip.

I suppose I should get ready... To go against father in a match watched by many, it's something that I look forward to yet dread at the same time.

* * *

 _ **(Robin)**_

I woke up slowly to loud but muffled cheering above me as I was simply met with the sight of the wooden ceiling upon prying open my groggy eyes.

I simply laid there and slowly recalled the events which had led me to what was most likely an infirmary as I felt something soft against my head, there was also something warm that covered my arms and torso. Not feeling up to moving around yet, I moved my hands from under the fabric which was draped upon my body, confirming my suspicions that it was indeed a normal blanket that covered me. Sighing, my mind raced back to the intense fight that I had experienced firsthand. I could remember the lone figure in green with those crimson red eyes of his staring me down, his expression empty and impassive; a stark contrast to the warm and inviting smile he had given to me during our first encounter.

His expression changed just like that. His crimson stare still sent chills down my spine as I was forced to draw my blade and tome upon him.

 _That man... he was skilled. Extremely so, he could possibly be on Chrom's level._

 _Though that finishing move he had performed was something that I could only imagine doing in my sleep._

My head throbbed and pulsed painfully as I groaned in annoyance. As I sat up, gathering my bearings as I tried to stop the world from spinning as blood rushed to my head, though a voice from beside my bed had decided to prevent me from doing otherwise.

"Ah, you're awake."

I turned my head to the side slowly to meet the face of the voice.

Well, at least what wasn't shrouded by a large green hood and turquoise bangs.

My eyes widened as I recognized the figure before me. His ever so familiar red eyes peeking out from behind his hair. He offered me a gentle smile as he stood up to walk towards a nearby table before returning shortly after with a glass of water. "Here." He said as he offered me the glass.

I gingerly reached out and took it; thanking him, I slowly drank the water as my mind felt clearer.

Smiling, I stared down at the now empty cup which held a faint reflection of my familiar face from the very bottom of the glass. Looking up, I turned my head around to find a table to place the glass on. While a few tabletops were present in the form of small cabinets and regular wooden tables, the closest one was the table the man sat at before offering me a glass. I stared at it for a moment, debating whether or not I should make an effort to walk and place it securely on a solid surface to avoid any spillage. The man chuckled before reaching out and tapped the rim of my glass. I looked at him curiously and blinked as I realized that he was implying.

I nodded shyly before offering him my glass, he smiled as he took it and placed it back on the table. He walked off once more before returning with a jug as well as his big grin ever so present on his face.

"Do you want some more?" He asked me. I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head. He smiled kindly as he nodded before making his way back to the table and placed the jug beside the glass if I ever decided to change my mind. It was then that I had realized that there were a few other items on the surface of the polished carved wood.

I saw what appeared to be a needle, some strings and... _MY CLOAK?!_

I immediately looked down to find myself dressed in a multitude of bandages, my usual strapped cream shirt as well as my matching pants. I immediately blushed and covered myself up at the revelation with the blanket that lay above my waist. I practically felt naked, exposed, without my cloak on my body. He stared at me curiously before seeing what had caught my attention; as he did, he laughed and I felt my face heat up even more from embarrassment.

"Haha. Don't worry, I understand the sentiment feeling. I feel the same way when I'm not wearing my cloak as well." I stared at him for a moment as the redness from my cheeks remained but a small smile graced my lips as I giggled. He sat back down beside me as he grabbed my cloak. "I know how important our cloaks are to people who actually like to wear them constantly, though I do apologize for making such a mess of it." I nodded in response as a sign that I accepted his apology. He appeared to be relieved at my response as he exhaled bated breath.

I noticed the sheer number of cuts that were scattered across its exterior. While I was upset that my favourite cloak was nearly ripped to shreds, I knew of some people within the castle who would be able to make quick work of it, though I stared at him curiously as he picked up a needle as well as some purple-black thread and began sewing the imperfections and tears of my cloak together, almost seamlessly, might I add. "I'll do my best to be able to repair it, it's the least I could do for a worthy adversary such as yourself." He complimented idly, causing me to blush again, though I remained quiet.

The two of us sat in silence, each of us returning to our own devices before the familiar muffled cheer of the crowds rang throughout the building once more. "What's... happening up there?" I asked hesitantly, he looked up from his handiwork to look at me.

"Oh, I believe they are holding some small competitions and events before they finish with the final match of the night at Lord Chrom's insistence as you were still in the infirmary with hopes of seeing you recover by then. Though, I believe Lord Chrom and Marth's battle will begin soon as it's been quite a while since it's started," he responded, my brow was raised in surprise as I rushed to get up, my hand supported me to get to the edge of my bed but gave out as I felt a sharp shock course through it. I yelped in pain as I retrieved my injured hand from what I could only assume was from that kick he had given me earlier; though I was quick to realize that I had taken away my only support keeping me upright from the bed.

"Waah!" I cried as I braced myself for the incoming impact of the stone floor that grew ever closer at every passing moment. I closed my eyes and waited to meet the cold ground, but instead found two strong arms holding me by my waist and shoulder. I looked up to find the green cloaked man look at me disapprovingly as well as slight concern.

"Please, refrain from doing something like that." He said as he placed me back on the bed, careful not to disturb any of the wounds I had suffered. "S-sorry..." I muttered, embarrassed at my rash action. He merely chuckled and shook his head.

"It's alright, I suppose it is my fault for making you panic about something like that as well as injuring your hand during our fight; though I have to mention that the medics, especially one particular young blonde healer had sternly ordered that you do not move hastily, at least for now." I winced at the mention of what was most likely Lissa. I suppose if anyone knew me as well as I would, it was her. She had always known of my tendencies of going overboard in my work, which usually resulted in me lacking rest and falling asleep, drooling over a map. Naga knows how much she teased me about that to no end. Despite that, she was like a sister to me.

He walked back over to his seat, but instead of sitting on it, he picked it up. My curiosity peaked as he sat next to me, even more so when he had a slight blush on his face, along with a tentative and hesitant expression. I was confused as to what this meant, but my questions were soon answered as he held my hand and slowly rubbed it. I winced at the burning pain that my hand experienced, yet my blush felt even hotter as I kept my gaze away from his own. The two of us fell into total silence as he kept rubbing my wrist. It soon came to me that he was actually helping soothe my wrist injury by relieving the stress placed upon it; slowly but surely, the pain eased up, but it was still quite obvious. My eyes widened upon feeling a rush of cold emit from his fingertip as he pressed the injured part of my wrist. The burning feeling that surged through my arm vanished. I looked up at him with surprise, in return, he gave me a small but reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I just figured that it probably hurt quite a bit, so I just wanted to ease the pain." He said with a small blush on his cheeks. I nodded numbly with a small smile of my own in thanks.

He nodded back before returning his attention towards treating my injury. There was a serene air that flowed about him, he was a calming presence to be around and I had to admit, his company was nice.

Once he finished, he walked over to a cabinet and dug through a few boxes before pulling out some bandages. As he returned back at my side, he quickly but carefully wrapped it around my arm. I found it odd that he had wrapped a large amount of gauze around my arm in about three to four layers. I raised my brow in curiosity before he tightened the bandage, I would have assumed that splints or casts are usually required to handle delicate tendons to allow it to heal and prevent unneeded stress and movement. He then placed his right hand on top of my own. It was quite warm over mine, causing the both of us to blush, but neither of us had the courage to say anything. With his other hand, he proceeded to touch the wrapping with a single finger before my forearm felt a small chill.

Somehow, he had been able to freeze the bandages to be as hard as a rock. It's exterior was cooled to the touch, but my arm felt safe and warm. I looked up at him, questions forming at the forefront of my mind. He seemed to pick up on this as he smiled. "This is ice magic. Though it was a much weaker spell, I made sure to not freeze your arm. It's also why I had to hold yours... to prevent the magic from reaching your hand." He admitted shyly. "It should do for now, but you'll probably still need to have it checked once you reach to Ylisse." I stared at him, dumbfounded. This ice magic he spoke of was something that I had never even heard about, though he had explained that is was, at its base, an anima spell.

"Thank you..." He stared at me for a moment before shaking his head.

"There's no need for thanks. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." In truth, as much as I was to shy to admit it, I kind of liked having his hand hold my own. It was something that I was never given the privilege or even the chance to experience.

It felt... nice.

"It's... alright." He apologized once more before pulling up his satchel from behind him to place it on his lap. Undoing the buckle on it, the insides revealed a mass content of books. My eyes widened in surprise at this. He motioned for me to pick one.

"It'll be a while until I finish repairing your cloak, so I'd figure that you'd want something to pass the time." I blushed at the incredibly kind and thoughtful gesture and made sure to express my thanks. It was quite pleasant knowing that he was as much as a bookworm as I was, though if his clothing, as well as his nature, was anything to go by, it was more than likely that the man enjoyed taking the time to sit down and read a good book, and I appreciated that.

I scanned over the lines of books before reaching out towards a book with a green and brown leathered cover with golden bindings. His eyes widened at this before he held my hand to prevent further approach towards it. The two of us blushed heavily, but I could see the small apologetic frown on his face. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you can't read that one... It's... my journal." My eyes widened at the revelation before I apologized profusely. He was thankfully understanding and accepted my apology with little trouble before I returned to pick out another book.

I had ended up grabbing a book with a book with a common leather cover. He appeared to smile as he saw the book I had chosen and gave me a nod of approval. Soon after, he returned his seat back beside the table to resume working on my cloak.

As I flipped the pages of the book he had given me, some of the earlier entries and pages of the book appeared to be quite old, though as I kept flipping the pages, reading through its passages thoroughly, I was fascinated by the book's contents which were based on the principles of magic. I had learned much about the properties of dark magic, which was actually referred to as Elder magic - which in my opinion, was a much better name - though it had come as a surprise when I had discovered that it had a natural opposite, which was called Light magic. Reading about this fascinating form of magic that was able to counter Elder magic completely with the weakness against Anima magic intrigued me,It was something that was unheard of in Ylisse, though seeing as how popular Anima magic was these days and how most dark magic wielders were located in Plegia, I supposed that it was reasonable that Light magic just lost it's charm to people. Many questions spurred within the works of my brain, I could only imagine what the possibilities light magic was to Risen, though learning of all this, a question rose to the forefront of my mind.

"Mark... is it?" I asked, breaking the silence. He looked up at me for a moment before nodding.

"Mhm, that's what people call me," he replied. "I had heard that your name is Robin, is that right?" He asked in return as I nodded my head in return to confirm his assumption. With the introductions out of the way, I proceeded to speak my mind.

"Um.. You aren't around here, are you? I mean, I haven't heard of anyone close to your level of skill in swordsmanship in Ylisse or even Ferox." He chuckled in response as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Heheh, well they did call me the _Mysterious Wanderer_ , though I suppose the title holds some truth to it." I tilted my head curiously at him.

"Oh? Please, do tell." He thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Sure, well I suppose I should start with where I came from. I hail from a land that is far from the likes of Ylisse and Ferox, though it might be possible that you may know of the place." I nodded in response.

"Mm, that is interesting, I've read about some of the neighboring continents to Ylisse, unfortunately, my knowledge is only limited to that of Plegia, Ferox, Valm and Ylisse itself; though I have heard of stories of some of the adventures that have come from different parts of the world. They are quite fascinating to hear." He smiled slightly and nodded.

"I see, pray tell what kind of stories you speak of." I placed a hand on my chin in thought, my eyes closed as I contemplated what I should go with. Soon enough, a smile crossed my face as I remembered a story that I was particularly fond of. I turned to him with an answer ready.

"Well, there is one that I quite often enjoy hearing about." He tilted his head curiously as if he was asking me to continue, so I decided to enlighten him.

"I have heard tales of a great tactician who had hailed from the land of a faraway land called Elibe." I had said with a bright smile, though looking at him I could see a blank expression on his face, he stared emptily at me as he stopped stitching, his hand was held frozen in the air. I blinked curiously before trying to get his attention, I was slightly concerned of his behaviour as it was quite an odd action for a man like himself; then again, I hardly knew him, so I couldn't really say whether or not it was something natural or not. "Mark?" I said quietly as he snapped his head back towards me.

A moment of silence passed as we both stared at each other's eyes before Mark's expression turned into one of realization. "Ah, I must have spaced out, haven't I." His question was only met with a simple nod as well as a look of concern, he smiled sheepishly in response but quickly sat straight, his attention now fully focused on me. "I'm sorry, please continue." He said. I stared at him for a moment longer, in thought for whether I should continue or not, though I had decided to do the former with a small shrug and dismissed the... interesting moment for now.

"Well, he was known for his brilliant strategies that were able to bring down castles and empires with only a small group of soldiers. I had even heard that he was able to take down a dragon, though people say that his current whereabouts are unknown." As I went on about the great rumors I had heard about this mysterious tactician, I failed to notice that Mark appeared to be slightly tense as I recounted the various tales, the edges of his mouth twitched into a frown as sadness took over his eyes when I had mentioned some peculiar events of the man's adventure such as the battle that took place on Dread Isle. Despite this, I also saw an occasional smile appear on his face on the instances where the tactician had led his troops to victory. He nodded as the story progressed and he kept on sewing my cloak together.

The two of us sat there and talked for a while, it was quite pleasant. I much preferred this side of him than the version I was unfortunate enough to face on the battlefield. I shuddered at the thought of those crimson red eyes of his, his passive and blank expression staring me down as if he were some sort of motionless corpse, yet he was more powerful than any risen I had and probably will encounter later on. Mark noticed this as he stood up, "Are you cold? I could get you a blanket if you want?" He offered. I blushed in embarrassment for letting my nerves get the best of me and I shook my head lightly in refusal.

"No thank you, I'm fine..." He didn't seem to buy it as he raised a curious eyebrow but decided not to press the matter, much to my relief. As much as a stranger he was, I feel as if I have grown very close to him within the past few minutes. We had found that we had many things in common, though he preferred to avoid talking too much about his past, I didn't put it past him. After all, I was hiding something as well...

Besides, I didn't want to take my chances on somehow offending him. He had more than earned the right to be called a friend of mine and he would prove to be a strong ally to our cause.

"Hmm, if you're sure..." He muttered as he resumed working on my cloak. The cheers from above died down as the room was filled with a comfortable silence. I continued watching him flawlessly thread and woven his needle through the fabric with such expertise that surprised me. He could easily make a fortune of how seamlessly and efficiently he works.

I simply stared at him before my eyes laid upon his green cloak. A forgotten question resurfaced as I had noticed that I had barely even known something as simple as what his profession was, as likely as it may be that what I was thinking of was right, there wasn't any harm in asking, was there?

"...May I ask you a question?" I asked tentatively.

"Hmm?" He looked up from his patchwork, the smile on his face was infectious as I could feel my lips twitch upwards merely looking at him. He sat up in his seat, his undivided attention on me. "Sure, what is it?" He asked.

"Um... were... are you by chance a tactician?... Like me?" He stared at me for a moment as I could feel myself squirming under his intense gaze. He sighed as he returned his attention back my cloak's repair, inspecting the patchwork he had made.

"Yes... Yes, I was." He said after a moment of silence.

"Was?"

"Mhm," He answered solemnly as he finished the last knot to seal the bonds of his stitch work. Nodding in approval of his work, he stood up and walked over to me.

"Here." He said before draping my newly patched cloak around my shoulders. I blushed slightly as he did so since I was quite... inexperienced with contact but made no movement or indication to tell him to stop as I instead sat there and focused on enjoyed the warmth and comfort of my rich purple cloak returning it's familiar and comforting embrace around me, where it belonged. Nodding in thanks, he withdrew his hands to his side before settling on standing before me with an eager expression on his face as he waited for me to put it on. Deciding to humour him, I clasped the rope that hung over my chest to ensure that it didn't fall. The expression of bliss and relief swelled up within my body as I slithered my arms through the coat's sleeves, feeling whole again; I looked over the patches of my cloak. As I had expected, the knots and ties he had made were near undetectable, apart from the off few splotches of faded purple as well as the occasional tinge of rose red from what was most likely where my wounds were located. It was probably without saying that I'd probably need to get it washed and re-dyed when we get back to Ylisse, I don't even remember the last time I even washed it.

"Thank you, it's perfect," I said truthfully as I turned my attention towards him, a bright smile on my face. He appeared to brighten at those simple words but I think he could tell how much meaning I was really putting into them.

"Well, if you've travelled as long as I have, you'll have to learn how to keep your belongings stuck together. It's a pain at first, but it slowly grows on you once you get good at it. I even learned how to perform basic first aid with the help of some of my friends since I decided to start travelling again." He explained; I contemplated his words before nodding. "I see, perhaps I should try my hand at sewing as well." He appeared to think about it for a moment before nodding. "Mm, I think it's a good idea, especially with your set of skills, I think you'd be quite good at it." He complimented as he sat back down in his chair.

He seemed to be in thought for a moment, my gaze was laid upon him as I awaited for his response to my inquiry.

"...A Tactician, huh?... Well, like you, I've been a part of a war. A few, actually... I remember leading my troops and friends into battle as they and myself risked our lives, fighting for a cause that we believed in. Countless days have I wondered what would happen after the war, what I would do when there was no villain to best... Well, I suppose that time finally came for me. There wasn't any more major conflict in the battlefields, no spittle between clashing idealists and people obsessed with power and money, so my home country didn't need my services anymore. Knowing that my motherland would be kept well as it was under the protection of some of my dearest friends, I settled on travelling the world to explore new lands." He explained idly as he looked out the window with a wistful smile on his face. While his exterior exhibited a stoic composure and calmness, I could sense a sort of hurt in his voice for reasons I would only imagine.

"I... I see..." His crimson red eyes settled back on me, an apologetic look on his face along with a goofy grin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down." I shook my head, denying the claim as I held my hands up to prevent him from going further.

"No, no, if anything, it's my fault," I said embarrassed, he stared at me for a moment before chuckling softly. The two of us continued to talk about random subjects we could come up with, branching off to his weapons, his adventures and exploits, and finally, tactics.

Talking here with him was pleasant. We both had bright happy smiles on both of our faces as we shared the occasional laugh at the random jokes he made.

I had a feeling that we would be good friends.

* * *

"Well fought! All of you. You shepherds are some of the finest soldiers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting; and thanks to the work of all of you, I'm able to preside over Regna Ferox as it's new ruler for a good long while. The shepherds all glanced at each other with a mixture of relieved and prideful smiles on their faces. To my surprise, the blond khan turned her attention towards me next as she exclaimed a mighty "And you!"

"M-me?" I stuttered, slightly nervous about what she was to say. Like thunder, she quickly found her way beside me and clapped my back hard, though she was surprisingly gentle to not hurt any of my suffered injuries.

"Yes, you!" She affirmed before letting out a hearty laugh, while I was still recovering from having the wind knocked out of my lungs. The shepherds just looked at each other with hesitant looks as they debated whether or not they should intervene. "Your battle against that traveller was quite the spectacle! The crowd roared with excitement as your battle gained pace, it was truly a match to remember. Though it was unfortunate that you weren't able to best him, your skill and bravery are to be commended with a feast!" She cheered, raising her hand for the others to follow her example. While most reluctantly did so, there were a few - such as Vaike and Sully - who roared their approval. I smiled to myself, while I wasn't one to like boasting about my own abilities as both a fighter and a tactician, I felt a deep sense of pride swell within me. I looked towards her with an expression of expectancy; noticing this, Flavia laughed and nodded.

"Don't worry, I have not forgotten our agreement. I will provide Ylisse with as many soldiers as she needs and sees fit, it is the least I can do for what you have done for me." She boasted loudly. Chrom's expression brightened considerably as he stepped forward with a look of gratitude. Surely Emmeryn would be proud of him.

"Truly? Thank you, East-Khan."

"It's Khan Flavia to you boy! Now come, my friends. Let us celebrate our victory!" She shouted as she ran out of the arena floors like a giddy little girl. Many of the shepherds just stared in awe at the childish display while some settled for chuckling. Shortly after a moment's worth of debating whether we should follow her or not, an equally loud complaint that rivalled that of Flavia emerged from the door she just ran through.

"Hey! Watch it, woman!"

"Not now you big oaf, we have a party to start!" Her voice faded as she most likely gained distance towards the mess hall and away from us. Soon after, a large muscular man walked in, rubbing his side with an annoyed expression on his face. His attire was one that was actually quite similar to Vaike's, in the sense that they both... show off a lot of skin; ignoring this, his large stature and presence was one that demanded respect and the various scars that were scattered across his body distinguished his experience in battle. The balded man sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Bah, any excuse for a party and Flavia jumps on it..." He muttered with obvious irritation. Chrom tilted his head in response, obvious confusion as well as slight wariness evident on his expression.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" The blue haired prince asked the man. I face palmed at how dense and forgettable Chrom was, then again, he wasn't one to like listening on anything involving politics. In fact, I was the one that was usually placed in charge of situations like that; though when the meetings did require his presence, it usually did involve me being present somehow.

"I'm the West-Khan you so rudely removed from power!" He exclaimed with a heavy amount of sarcasm, his hands were thrown in the air, though his expression didn't really show any real signs of anger, surprisingly. I sighed in relief, knowing that there wouldn't be a fight between the two, whether it be verbally or physically; politics-wise, if he were to start fighting now, Ylisse wouldn't be in the green zone with the other half of Ferox.

"You're handy with a sword, boy. I thought for sure I'd picked the stronger man." He said with his hands on his hips, his one good eye staring into Chrom's own. Chrom perked up slightly with his now undivided attention on the large man.

"What do you know about him?" The prince asked curiously; Basilio merely scoffed in response as he folded his arms disappointingly.

"You mean that "Marth"? Bah! He's just some sellsword with delusions of grandeur. All I know is that he turned up one eve and knocked my old champion flat." I blinked in surprise; while I was able to watch the match between Chrom and Marth with the help of Mark guiding me there, Marth's swordplay -while impressive- likely wouldn't have stood a chance against a fearsome foe such as the brunette Myrmidon himself. Marth was about on par with Chrom as they shared a surprisingly similar fighting style as well as having a similarly modelled weapon, which intrigued me in both a good and bad way.

"It was love at first sight, and I'm generally too old for such things! Baha! Anyway, he's gone now. Up and fled the moment the tournament ended." He motioned with a shooing gesture to mimic his own view of how Marth had acted. Chrom nodded with a hand on his chin in thought.

"I see..." Lissa then decided to add her own two gold coins into the ring with her own opinion of Marth.

"He's so dark and mysterious..." She then proceeded to let out a long drawn sigh in admiration and fantasy. I chuckled in amusement as the cheerful cleric wasn't typically the kind to fawn over a boy as Chrom was usually one to scare away any suitors before they could even get close, and it was usually a rather rare occasion that she would be able to do so anyway since she had quite a narrow-minded perspective of her own "perfect man" or at least something to that effect, though she did ensure that I would stay quiet about this to Chrom or she threatened to dump a frog down my collar again and I wasn't about to have such a horrible experience again.

The girl did know how to drive a good deal.

"Sounds like Marth's got at least one fan..." I joked as she turned her attention towards me with a soft and nervous smile on her face, along with a small blush blossoming on her cheeks.

"Well, I mean, c'mon... He _IS_ sort of dreamy, isn't he?" She attempted to justify herself; unfortunately, Chrom being the big brother he is decided to step in, not liking the idea of having his little sister see anyone yet.

"And _YOU'RE_ sort of dreaming!" He scolded her as she flinched at his response, despite the answer being expected.

"Yowch! Lighten up, Big Brother. I was just kidding." She murmured, though the blush on her cheeks betrayed her words. Chrom let out an exasperated sigh while shaking his head; Basilio laughed heartily as he oversaw the entire conversation, while I myself had a little smile. Frederick then came up beside Chrom, attentive as ever as he bowed in respect.

"Milord? Milady? If this fascinating discussion is over, we'd best return home. The exalt will want this news of our new alliance immediately." Frederick reasoned, his face as stoic as ever. However, I could more than likely imagine that his reasons for leaving immediately lie within the thought of not wanting to have a drunk Chrom on his hands. Then again, the man wouldn't likely mind too much if it meant that he needed to take care of him, though I suppose his safety comes first over all.

Basilio raised an eyebrow with his good eye watching us curiously. "Hm? You're leaving already?" He asked. Chrom nodded his head with an apologetic look on his face. "Unfortunately so, I'm not one to be able to handle my liquor." He reluctantly admitted. I nodded in agreement as I remembered the last time he had a few mugs of beer... it wasn't pleasant, to say the least. I was quite surprised when I discovered this revelation as I had typically assumed the man to be able to hold his liquor; though unfortunately, when it did, it involved a lot of throwing up and exclamations of friendship before getting into fights with snobby nobles. Then again, the last one was pretty amusing to watch.

"Oh come on boy, just stay the night! Your crew must be exhausted after the battles you have faced today." He said, pointing to me especially. Chrom turned to look at me, his gaze scanning me from head to toes. I blushed slightly at the rather inappropriate action but kept quiet while Frederick stood forward.

"Milord, Robin seems to be fine. Even if she is tired, she may sleep on the wagon with our supplies if need be." A frown tugged at the ends of my lips. While I was aware of how suspicious the great knight Frederick the wary was of any new acquaintances to his lord... but damn. That was cold, even for him. Chrom seemed to agree on this as he sighed.

"Frederick..." Basilio then decided to intervene as he held a hand up to stop everyone from talking.

"Hold boy. Before you go, I have a little present for you." He said with a large amount of pride. I turned to face Chrom with a curious expression before he returned the gesture with one of his own.

Our questions were then answered as a familiar tall brunette myrmidon entered the empty arena grounds and made his way beside Basilio. Many of the shepherd's widened their eyes in pleasant surprise, while Vaike looked like he was on the brink of another one of his rants. Luckily Kellam and Sully were able to hold the man as well as his outburst back as they slowly dragged him away once more. The man stared coldly at Vaike before grunting and turning his attention back towards Chrom and Basilio, which nearly made Vaike break out of Sully and Kellam's grips. It was fortunate for us that Sully was often called "The Woman to End All Men" and that title was something that shouldn't be taken lightly, considering how she just suplexed him into the ground, rendering him unconscious.

We all breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that we wouldn't have to suffer another one of Vaike's humiliating challenges and we proceeded to give Sully our thanks in return of her kind gesture. Lissa giggled as she skipped over to Vaike and made sure to heal the bump that was on his head, though she was careful to not wake him.

Chuckling, Basilio decided to continue with introductions as he patted the man's shoulder. "As you know, this is Lon'qu, my former champion." The man folded his arms and nodded in greeting. "Not much for talking, mind you, but he's peerless with a sword. As good as Marth, in my mind. To be honest, I can't figure out how Marth bested him so quickly." Lissa tilted her head as she skipped up to him.

"Marth beat him? But he looks so big and strong..." She wondered aloud as she drew near him, causing the poor man to react with immediate panic.

"Away, woman!" He shouted in hopes of dispelling Lissa's approach. The blond cleric reeled back in shock and surprise, a look of hurt on her face as she turned to Basilio who merely laughed loudly.

"Hey! Wh-what did I say?!"

"Ba ha ha! Let's just say that ladies tend to put Lon'qu on edge." The myrmidon grumbled something indiscernible under his breath as he regained his composure. Once Basilio finished his laughs, he continued. "Nonetheless, he is capable. Perhaps he even has the makings of a khan. Consider him West Ferox's contribution to the Ylissean cause." He exclaimed, slamming his fist against the man's back. Despite holding his ground, I could visibly see the strain that put on his face as well as his clenched fist indicating that the simple "clap on the back" probably would have knocked the wind out of anybody who wasn't used to it.

"You're certain about this?" Chrom asked Basilio, the man simply nodded his head.

"Yes, yes. He's your man now. I don't have much use for him around here since the next tournament takes place in about a few years or so from now, and there's always the added benefit of having my best fighter grow in the art of his swordsmanship by travelling with people like you lot." He explained. Chrom nodded in response, understanding the logic behind the man's reasoning. He then turned his attention towards the sharp eyes myrmidon.

"And Lon'qu? You have no objections?" He shook his head with a small grunt.

"He gives orders. I stab people. I think our roles are clear." He said cooly, though his words were quite... to the point. -hehe-

"...All right then. Welcome aboard." Chrom said, holding his hand out to the man. Lon'qu shook it and nodded as a sign of respect before standing at Chrom's side.

The group decided to start planning we should go next. Two sides voted in favour of wanting to stay for the party, and the other wanting to leave as soon as possible. While he _was_ the leader of the group, Chrom had decided that it was fair that we should be able to decide whether or not we should celebrate for our victory. He had sent out a carrier pigeon to report to Emmeryn about the news of the new Alliance we had formed thanks to Chrom and the shepherd's efforts soon after we had recruited Lon'qu, who was currently talking with Basilio about some important matters.

While the group discussed the matter, the thought of a familiar green cloak entered my mind. I scratched my chin in thought, contemplating a decision which could quite possibly prove useful to our cause. Nodding in assurance, I decided to walk over to where Basilio and Lon'qu were talking to discuss something with the former of the two; then again, it's probably unlikely that the latter would even want to talk with me considering the gender I identify as. There was probably a story for that, but things like that take time to open up to.

The large muscular man noticed my approach as he gave me a big grin in greeting. "You're the tactician that leads the boy's group, correct?" I nodded in response.

"Yes, I am." He laughed in response before folding his arms over his chest.

"Hah, you need to loosen up lass! Your serious and formal attitude reminds me of someone else!" He bellowed. I turned my head towards Lon'qu with a questioning look. He merely shies away from my gaze with a grunt but makes no move to walk away, seeing as he likely had important matters with Basilio to discuss with.

"So, do what do I owe the pleasure," Basilio asked.

"Well... actually, I was wondering if a man named Mark worked under you." He seemed to brighten up at the mention of the crimson eyed man. I was informed that the man who had apparently so adeptly earned the man a lot of gold during the betting placements during our match. Though I was quite upset when Mark had told me of this, he happily gave me some the share of his keepings from the betting process rewarded by Basilio, who had insisted that he had "earned it".

"Ah, yes. You mean the boy you faced during the festival, don't ya?" I nodded shyly in response to his question. Sure I was still upset knowing that the match between Mark and me was something that people decided to gamble on, I supposed that the money would likely be put into good use towards the growth of the country.

"The man is talented. His skill with the sword is one to be admired." Lon'qu added in, still refusing to look at me but I supposed his honour as a fellow swordsman wished to acknowledge Mark's skill and art in the way of the sword. Frankly, I have to agree with him. While he appeared to be capable of using magic due to the subtle but effective method of using wind magic to apply more force onto me, he pretty much relied on his strange sword for the majority of the fight. Not to mention his terrifying act during the last phase of the battle.

I pushed that thought aside as I had a much more important matter to settle.

"Yes, that's the one. I was wondering if you know where he is?" He seemed to scratch his chin in thought.

"Hmm, I can't exactly say for sure, but I'd imagine that he'd still either be in the training grounds or somewhere secluded. The boy is fine with a conversation but he's quite the bookworm." I nodded, understanding where he came from as I personally related to the feeling.

"I see. Will he be staying for the party Flavia is holding?" Basilio seemed to think on it for a moment before nodding.

"I'd imagine that he is, well, I pretty much pushed him into it since his show with you garnered a lot of attention. Then again, he'll probably be gone once the party is over." He said. I tilted my head curiously.

"Why's that? I would have thought that he would have stayed longer to explore Ferox more." He shrugged in response.

"Well, the boy said that he was looking for something, or rather, someone." My eyes widened in surprise. During our talk in the infirmary, Mark had never mentioned the particular reason why he was travelling Ylisse. Thinking about it now, it would make sense that he had an objective in mind if he were to come this far as he so claimed.

"Do you know who he is looking for?"

"I'm afraid that's not my place to tell you, lass. That's something that only the boy can answer." I frowned at his response but nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, Khan Basilio."

"No problem, and relax will ya? That frown isn't a good look on a pretty face like yours." I blushed in response to his flattery, gods, it was nearly as bad as Virion. I sighed before waving the two goodbyes.

What's wrong with my frown anyways? But nevermind that.

I have someone I needed to find.

* * *

 _Log 2 - Regna Ferox pt.2_

 _The tournament/ festival for the title of reigning Khan of Ferox has come to an end._

 _Unfortunately, I wasn't able to gain any information from Basilio concerning the whereabouts of the Fell Dragon, or its Vessel._

 _Despite this, he was kind enough to lead me to a library within the walls of the arena's fortress._

 _It was quite surprising to see the sheer mass of columns upon columns of books that lined the expansive room._

 _Considering that the motto of Ferox more lies in "Strength over politics." I was quite surprised to find that they actually read this much._

 _Then again, you don't judge a book based off its cover._

 _Though for the most part, the books were primarily written for training, strength and technique regimens, I was able to locate a few old passages consisting of the lore of the Ylissean and Plegian war._

 _While it didn't give me too many hints or details that would able to silence the questions my mind brews, I have found a lead._

 _Apparently, the vessel is created from a long line of Grima's faithful servants._

 _It is said that Grima themselves implanted their seed into a worthy and willing subject from said line of servants to create a vessel who has an incredible capacity for magic talent, likely being so that they are able to contain Grima's raw power._

 _It is likely that I need to research more into the line of possible candidates and try to find a match._

 _Though, if Grima themselves are the parent of the vessel._

 _Would that make them... a dragon?_

 _Or more so, a manakete?_

 _Though it may not be common knowledge to the public, it appeared that if at least one parent was a dragon, their children were to be one as well._

 _Nergal was human. Aenir was a dragon._

 _Their children, Ninian and Nils were both dragons._

 _I myself have experienced the incredible power and strength that a Dragonborn is capable of._

 _Naga herself, as well as Lady Tiki, were said to be one of the last few of their kind as divine dragons._

 _While dragons may have different shapes, forms and sizes, one of the most recognizable traits that they have._

 _Are their unique eyes._

 _-o-_

 _Dear Lyn._

 _I am writing this as of the festival's end._

 _While Lord Chrom was named the victor against his match against the mysterious newcomer Marth,_ _I can happily say that I was able to put your training into practice as I had won against a very formidable opponent today._

 _I'm glad that the time we spent together didn't go to waste._

 _It made me happy that I could carry on your legacy with the blade you entrusted me, but it still saddens me that you weren't there to see it._

 _But then again, maybe you could._

 _My opponent was strong, incredibly so; but when I had the opportunity to meet her officially, I found that she was quite..._

 _Well, like me in a way._

 _We apparently shared many passions and interests, including our profession._

 _Never in my life had I thought that I would be able to meet another fellow tactician without being at each other's throats. Then again, we did battle during the festival, so there's that._

 _But for now, I'll ignore that._

 _While I suppose Erk and Lord Pent were the mage general in their time and have led an army, I would probably be too prideful to say that they were proper tacticians._

 _I always remember how you joked about the happenstance which would occur if I were to meet another of my "own kind". You had described that it would likely result in hours of endless talking, and I admit._

 _You were most definitely right._

 _She was kind and passionate about her line of work too._

 _She radiated an aura of shy calmness yet an excited courage to stand up against all odds._

 _It reminded me of myself back when we still traveled together, yet her laugh and caring smile reminded me of yours._

 _The silver-haired maiden, the crimson-eyed tactician of Ylisse._

 _Her name was Robin._

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

 **Hey guys, Chapter 2 is finally out!** **I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **While managing my schedule for studying for my next exams, the only real problem I would have to face is the Math one, though that will pass in a few days. I probably won't have too much of a problem with the English one, so I'd expect that my schedule will return to normal shortly after my math exam passes.**

 **On another note, I also have quite a bit of free time since we were released from school to allow us to study for our exams, so it gives me a lot of time to write if I ever get too bored of studying.**

 **Also, I have to mention that the idea of having Grima as the actual parent instead of Validar was something that I had read off of the Fanfiction "The voice and the vessel" (great fic, definitely recommend) So no, it's not something I had come up with, and I just really don't like Validar. Plus, it also connects to some future events I have planned for the story as well.**

 **Welp, that's all for now.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Ignis**


	3. Fateful encounters

_Log 3 - Elebian Series_

 _While I was relieved to hear that Lyn finally gained the courage to ask what had been weighing on her mind, i_ _t was quite the surprise to hear that she wished to journey with me around Elibe._

 _Frankly, I was quite contented to live here with my new friend._

 _But I do understand that it can often get... boring, for a lack of a better term when you've spent pretty much your entire life living in the same place, without any opportunity to wander around places only told in stories and tales._

 _So of course, I accepted her request._

 _The bright and radiant smile she gave me gave me a warm feeling within my chest, it was quite a beautiful sight to see._

 _I wasn't quite sure what we would do then, we didn't even have a map at our disposal, but the two of us had figured that we'd start in the nearest town, Bulgar, from the plains of Sacae and go on from there._

 _Then again, the two of us were basically walking blindly since we had basically no knowledge of where to go, but Lyn had mentioned that she had visited the town occasionally if she was low on materials, or if she just wanted to talk with the random stranger. Of course, she was careful to talk to the right people, there were people who were more than willing to take advantage of someone like her, but she's strong enough to ward them off as she did with the bandits the two of us had encountered during my awakening._

 _It was just the two of us then._

 _Her, being raised here her whole life without as much as a glimpse of the outside world, and me, an amnesiac._

 _Then again, there was the fact that I was apparently ambushed near the plains of Sacae due to the state of my clothes of which Lyn found me in, so I figured that I didn't have the best sense of direction._

 _As of now, we've stopped to check into an inn to sleep for the night as well as to stock up any supplies that we needed and asked around for directions._

 _Though I did notice that there were these two particular knights that keep following us throughout our walk throughout Bulgar, one even dared to flirt with Lyn, though it was quite amusing to see her shut him down so quickly. The knight that accompanied, however, was much more refined and honorable, which I respected, though Lyn had apparently stormed off after with me in tow when the red knight had apparently tried to "flirt" with her as well, though I believe it was a mere misunderstanding._

 _They seemed... fishy, of sorts. Perhaps it was just intuition of some kind, but there was something about them that unsettled me slightly._

 _She's currently asleep in the bed that sat at the opposite end of the room we booked. We were blessed that we were able to find an inn owner of which didn't discriminate against Lyn's kind as many of the merchants within the town had. It made my blood boil to see them spit out insults at her, though it was a nice change of fresh air to be welcomed without a second thought, given the required money as payment of course._

 _She looked peaceful._

 _Well, I can't let her down now, I owe her too much for that._

 _Perhaps it will be fun, this journey of ours._

 _Lyn and I have already grown to be close friends. Rather, I was pretty much her only friend here in Sacae, apart from the animals that also shared our home._

 _While I had found some tomes within my satchel that Lyn had found lying next to me when she had found me on the plains, aside from the fact that they were supposedly extremely hard to cast, but there was also the glaring issue that I was again, still an amnesiac._

 _It's probably a good idea that I start training with magic again if I am to fight alongside Lyn if we are to be confronted at some point or another._

 _It probably wouldn't hurt to see if I could find some lower ranked tomes in the market, hopefully, I have enough coin for it._

 _I just hope that we don't run into more bandits along the way._

 _Then again, I have Lyn with me._

* * *

 _ **(Mark)**_

The vast corridors of the seemingly endless towers of books loom above me as I thoroughly flicked through the pages of the book within my grasp in a slow but purposeful succession. My glazed turquoise eyes skimmed quickly over several passages after passages from the various sources of books that were held carefully in front of me carefully, picking out any detail and hints that would prove beneficial to the quest Naga had sent me on. I sighed wearily, placing the faded and well-worn book that was secured in my bare hands onto the ever-growing stack of books that sat around me, seeing that it served no further purpose to me.

It was truly difficult having to scour through all of these seemingly infinite amounts of books that lined the walls of Ferox's library. It had surprised me greatly that Ferox even had such a mass of information and stored knowledge to this scale within their walls since their main motto follows under the line of "strength over politics" though I suppose that it's a given rule, especially of those that are tacticians that you should never judge a book its cover. If I were to be a simple traveller, finding such a vault of treasure would be like a field day for me, but I grew only more and more frustrated as I read through more and more books without much information, as much as a small detail relating to the Fell Dragon, despite my careful search of any related records.

It wasn't like me to be so impatient, but I had a goal in my mind that required my full attention and my resolve was fueled by the haunting echoing image of my fiance's bloodstained face, her once vibrant and radiant green eyes turned dull and lifeless. My hands stopped as my mind seemed to settle back into reality. The air seemingly draining from my lungs as I shook at the mere thought of her... her beautiful loving smile, her confident and prideful attitude she displays against her foes, the cute and gentle snores she makes when she lays her head upon my shoulder to rest...

The way her face lights up when I told her that I love her...

My heart ached as I look around to find the empty and quiet halls that surrounded me, the small hiss of the burning torchlight battling against the chilled breeze of the storm that was around the castle's walls. A small tear pricks the edges of my eyes as my hand was slowly drawn over my face.

 _I was alone here..._

A shaky sigh escapes my lips as my vision is obscured by my gloved hand. The world around me is shut out of my perception, leaving me trapped within the darkness that gave me the privilege to breathe.

 _She wasn't here with me..._

My body trembled and shivered heavily despite the tempered room that I sat within. My free hand desperately gripped and clawed at the heavy green cloak that clung tightly to my body in an attempt to bring it closer to my chest, my breathing becomes unstable as I fumbled around with the golden clasp in a desperate attempt to cover my body. The green scarf that hung around my neck slowly choked me with the painful reminder of reality as it was slowly stained with the tears that fell from my covered face, despite my best efforts to spill my heart out when no-one was there to help me.

 _And it's all the Fell dragon's fault._

 _They took her away from me..._

I breathe...

The world returning back to it's original state as the temperature of the room aligned itself back to normal.

I wipe away the remaining tears from my eyes with a small frown yet I could not acknowledge them. I couldn't afford to show weakness here, not now, not after all I had to go through to get this far. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I slapped my cheeks to wake myself up. Perhaps it wasn't the healthiest habit but it indeed helped me regain focus on a current task. I look down at the worn pages of the book that lay in front of me, a sigh of relief escapes my lips as there were no stains that marked the page of information from my little episode. The positive feeling that resided momentarily within me was released as I resumed to put on a more blank and neutral expression on my face, opting that I take in as much information as I can without having any obstacles that would hinder my progress.

 _They'll pay for what they did to her._

Time seems to pass as I continue my endeavours to find some answers. My hope slowly deteriorates as I keep placing more and more books to the ever-growing mountain of texts that lay around me, flipping from page to page to no avail. A frown falls upon my face as my weary eyes turn to place the book I held to join the pile of tomes that held no useful information to me, or rather, information that I needed answers for. I flinch as my original source of light snuffs out beside me, leaving me within the grasp of darkness.

The lingering trail of smoke from the worn candle dangles beneath my nose as I turn my head to the nearby window to find that it was quite dark out. The moonlight that flooded in from the window did little to provide enough illumination to discern items effectively, but I could make out the general surroundings of the immediate area well enough to not trip over anything through my various experiences of staying up late in my tent to plan, occasionally not even noticing when a candle was snuffed out beside me if there was a sufficient amount of moonlight. A soft smile spread across my face as I remembered the various times that Lyn had to drag me away from the table to get some sleep. Despite the small amount of disappointment that I felt upon leaving my beloved plans, there was also my beloved fiance that I had to make time for as well... at least at that time. Now, there was no one left for me. No one left to wake me up or drag me away as hours passed, I stay unmoved form the spot. The only people that were able to move me were the library attendants that wanted to lock the store.

I held my hand up, careful to ensure that the surrounding area was clear of any flammable objects before I clicked my fingers, creating an audible snap within the quiet halls. Small embers flickered to life before swirling around the apex of my finger, forming a small fireball that served as a reliable light source within the abyss of darkness. A smile formed at the edges of my lips as I admired the glowing fireball that perched itself comfortably above my palm. The way the embers swirled around the ball of luminescent flame was quite a magnificent sight, though it wasn't a reliable source of light to continue reading further.

I turned my attention back to the next pile of books that lay before me. While it was harder to maintain my rate of reading as I could only use one hand due to the fact that I had to use my finger point to maintain the spell, my eyes glazed over the cover of a rich purple canvas with a detailed but heavily worn and faded golden embroideries in front of me. It radiated an aura of power, there was a pull to it that attracted my attention towards it, begging me to open it immediately but I was lucky enough to suppress my urges.

Oddly enough, I didn't remember cataloguing this book before...

Perhaps I'm getting old... No, I'm still relatively young, I can't be getting senile yet.

Leaning over to the side and lifting the book up to turn it upright on it's spine, my eyes widen upon realizing how thick the book was in mass. Its height could easily match the length of my outstretched hand, which only served to create more questions within the depths of my mind. A sigh escapes my lips as I weighed my options on whether or not I should open the book. Concerning the fact that I had no knowledge of tasking out this peculiar tome. For all I know, it could possibly be a trap of some sorts. It wasn't unheard of that there were preset tomes that could potentially release a spell upon an unsuspecting victim, with elder magic tomes being the most effective in sheer destructive power. Though with that being said, there was the possibility that it had within it stored a great deal of information that could help my cause.

I was an unknown here, a mere wanderer to the plain eye. But if someone went as far as to give this to me without being detected, it would most likely mean that they are quite talented in the art of stealth, and the high probability that they knew who I was... either that or I was lost in my own thoughts. I had noticed that I had begun to do that a lot more often, as many people I had encountered had also told me the same, though I was glad that nobody had dared to take my wallet away from me. A guy's got to eat after all, and a room over my head is something to consider as well.

Rubbing the bridge between my eyes, I reluctantly stood up but stumbled slightly due to the loss of feeling in my leg. I cursed under my breath for my carelessness and near cause of a very destructive incident, I honestly didn't notice how much time had passed, if I did, I'd probably give my legs a bit more of a stretch before continuing. If I was to look into what the book contained, I would most likely require both of my hands at the ready if something were to go wrong, meaning that I would most likely have to venture out to find one. I looked at the tome that lay at my feet and turned my attention to my surroundings to ensure that there weren't any other presences that were with me. It would be quite troublesome if someone were to find this book laying on the floor due to the possible consequences that could be unleashed upon opening it.

Then again, there was still the present possibility that it was a perfectly normal book, a rather strange one at that but I couldn't take any chances with a book that randomly appears in front of me that set's all of my signs off.

Instincts were something that shouldn't be taken lightly, at least not with my experience to help polish it.

There was also the fact that it would be most unwise to unleash an explosion within a library as books were quite easily flammable, or deteriorative as they primarily originated from the use of fibres and even trees with the help of refined wind users. It wasn't often that I had encountered such books, but I was aware of what kind of threats that they possessed. As I reached down to grasp its spine, I was surprised to feel how lightweight it was, which only served to add more suspicion to its purpose as it was most likely enchanted with a sort of curse. Then again, curses were a grey area on its effects being either a positive or a negative, sometimes a neutral I suppose, but those didn't really serve many purposes.

Slipping it into my satchel, I looked at the surrounding area of the room to find myself trapped within the wall of books that had slowly grown around me like a barrier of sorts. Facepalming at how forgetful I was, I quickly brought out my other hand and clicked my fingers together once again as a storm of green wind whipped around me, placing the books in a much more organized fashion. I'd imagine that I would have to come back to those later.

Feeling satisfied to leave those there, for the time being, I navigated myself towards the exit of the library. Of course, I had checked with the receptionist, or rather, a guard that sat next to the entrance on whether or not there were any available candles, they replied with a negative, much to my disappointment. Though I was relieved to hear that they had most likely had some in stock within the supply garrison. Not wanting to trouble the guard further, I asked for the directions there to obtain them myself, to which they happily obliged, besides, I did need to stretch my legs for a bit. Even after walking through the large library, my legs still felt a bit sore, as if I had sat down for a really long... nevermind.

Making my way around the large halls of Ferox castle, I could only admire how well built and resilient it's defences were against the harsh storm that brewed outside its walls. There was also the matter of how finely crafted they were and how the decorum perfectly matched that of it's aesthetic. It was... homey if I was to put it in perspective. Then again, Ferox was like a home to many travellers and warriors from across the lands, of course, it made sense that such an area in which many people would occupy for both long or short term stays would appreciate that their lounging would help them settle in quickly and comfortably. I walked up towards a large opening within the wall, deviating from my intentional path to do some sightseeing.

I was stressed, I had to admit that. Though taking some time out of my day to simply admire what was around me was an easy and simple way of calming my nerves down, it was one of the many reasons that I had enjoyed travelling back in Elibe. The wooden panel was chilled to the touch, most likely due to the fact that on the other side was the cold of the world outside. Opening it gingerly, he sighed a breath of relief upon seeing that the wind had at least died out since a few moments ago. Deciding to pull it open fully, a smile blossoms on my face as I simply admired the beauty of the local land of Ferox.

The soft chilled breeze of the wind brushed against my face, though it didn't particularly bother me then it did before when I had first arrived here. The townscape below was layered in the white snow like a blanket upon the land, though the shining torches that sat underneath the villager's roofs or the bright brazen bonfires that burned in protest against even the harshest conditions that Ferox experienced.

It was a shame that I couldn't stay longer than I already have, but I have something that I needed to do.

Sighing, I continued my way down the hallway, ensuring that I closed the panel before returning to my original path, with the purpose of avoiding an annoyed guard's wrath as I enjoyed the silence that the empty space provided and would rather prefer to not deal with any nagging that the room temperature had dropped by a few. Though as I was about to round the next corner, I found myself accidentally colliding against someone, though the speed of which we collided wouldn't have caused both parties to stumble or fall, the person was unfortunate enough to trip on their shoes, causing their balance to tip, therefore, tripping up the both of us as they reached out to me in hopes of stabilizing themselves.

"Aaah!" * _Thud*_

I could feel my head pounding as I lay there, groaning. While the fall wasn't particularly painful, there was the added weight that was pushed onto me and used me as a cushion to soften their fall. Despite my slight annoyance at this, I was content to do nothing but stare at the ceiling above me as I felt a rather odd feeling of calm wash over me as I forgot about the world around me. Moments had passed then as my mind drifted off, the feeling that I was experiencing felt oddly familiar and reminiscent, though I was brought back to reality as a weight on top of me started squirming a little. Perhaps I was more tired than I thought if I felt so comfortable lying here. Then again, there was a source of warmth that lay close to my chest, it felt soft from what I could tell. I blinked as I recalled what I was supposed to be doing in the first place.

* * *

 _ **(Robin)**_

Uhhh...

I could feel the warm rush of blood rising quickly to my cheeks, causing it to turn an interesting shade of bright red as I found myself laying on top of the man whom I was searching for.

Well before this mess happened, I was in search for fortress Ferox's local library in which one of the local guards were kind enough to give me directions towards its location... or at least it's general location as I found myself stuck between a few cross-sections despite following their directions to a T. I could only sigh and groan in frustration as the night started to set in during my "hunt" as you could call it.

I was indeed surprised that Ferox had even installed one within their halls, though I would probably say that most people would be surprised at this fact as many of Ferox's inhabitants were warriors and muscle heads... no offence to them. Though to be fair, even royals like Chrom and Lissa would typically stay away from any source of literature or knowledge, though I suppose Lissa was always one for short stories and tales as she often had the mindset and preferences of a child, though she was still someone that we would all grow to love, despite her constant desire to torment people with her devious pranks.

I suppose that my line of thinking would match that of most people, especially the shepherds. For people to have come to know high ranked individuals such as Chrom or Lissa and understand their stance on the topic of study, especially when their future would most likely require them to understand basic and fundamental politics, those people wouldn't have expected much more from warriors who visit and do battle within Ferox's arena walls to study of all things.

Though the thought of this made me happy, to say the least. Perhaps there's more to these soldiers than mere brutes. After all, those who would only rely on power alone would most likely lose against those who are aware of things that their opponents did not, which can delve into many great benefits and assets such as techniques, common habits, perception and of course, tactics.

I had often wondered to myself why I was doing this in the first place, but I was painfully reminded by the sore spots of my body that were still recovering from my match against Mark. He was a strong warrior and a more than capable fighter. From what I could tell and what he has already told me, he was a tactician like I was, though he had much more experience in that field than I did, and there was even the odd but enlightening fact that he was actually one to join in the fray of battle to help his army directly instead of settling for sitting on the sidelines. Now I could actually shove this fact up those snobby royals faces when they look down upon my choice of taking part in battle myself.

If I could enlist him within our forces, he would prove to be more than a boon to our cause and could potentially turn the tides of battle with his advantage of experience. Though to be honest, there was also the fact that I enjoyed his company. Of course, I had grown to gain many friends during the short time of my occupation as the shepherd's tactician and I have had many opportunities to grow closer to the core member's of Chrom's ragtag bunch, especially with the two members of Ylisse's own royal family being the ones I have spent the most time with, followed by Sumia as we both shared a common interest in novels, magic and books in general. But with Mark... well, I suppose that the idea of meeting another fellow tactician had always intrigued me. Despite the initial belief that most of them would only laugh at my inexperience or shove their achievements in passerby's faces, he was much... different in that regard.

He was humble, kind and gentle, despite his hardened and serious persona that he had taken on during the heat of battle. I could tell of his vast amount of experience which most likely overshadowed mine by miles, though perhaps... perhaps by getting to know him better, I could learn much under him. I had the utmost faith in him that he wasn't one to be selfish and attempt to take my position as the shepherd's tactician, though that line of thought had always had me remember that he is a traveller. From what I could obtain from our conversation within the healing room, he had a purpose, something to drive him forward... While he was generally closed off in that regard, Basilio had mentioned that he was looking for someone. Of course, only Mark himself knew the answer, but I'd imagine that it's more of a personal reason, rather than a contracted one.

But if he's on a journey to work towards something, would attempting to recruit him into our side of the war hurt his plans? What if he denies my request?

Well, I couldn't have that sort of thought slow me down now. This was war, we couldn't afford to lose this, I couldn't afford to let the chance to recruit a valuable asset to the ranks slip by because I was too shy of rejection. We needed all of the help we could get, in fact, it was for that entire reason and purpose in which we had come here in the first place. Of course, Flavia had mentioned that she would put up a notice that would attract many of the warriors of Ferox to join our cause, perhaps Mark would join through those means as well, but my conversation with Basilio still had me concerned of our window of opportunity to gain him as an ally.

 _Then again, he'll probably be gone once the party is over._

Khan Basilio's words echoed throughout my mind. The sentence only served to sadden me as it would only mean that if I were to let him go now, there was a good chance that I would most likely never see him again... but, that was why I was doing my best to meet him in the first place. Only a fool would let a valuable asset... and potentially a friend such as himself go without an attempt, I could only hope for the best that it turns out well. Steeling my resolve, I hastened my pace, determined to reach wherever this library was as fast as I could manage.

Though, my actions were rewarded by bumping into someone immediately after, as I moved to cross a corner.

Perhaps I was too distracted by my thoughts that I wasn't able to notice whomever I had stumbled across, quite literally in fact as in my confusion, I accidentally tripped over my own two feet, causing my balance to shift forward. With a small yelp at the unexpected event, I reached out and grasped forward in a panic with the hopes of steadying myself but quickly came to the realization that I was holding onto the person in which I had collided with, therefore causing the fall to continue as the two of us were caught off guard by the sudden misstep.

My world was sent spinning by one of the most embarrassing failures of all time, great.

Maybe more embarrassing than that one time that I accidentally stumbled and fell while doing one of Frederick's excruciating training runs- _*Thud*_

Upon reaching the ground, the impact was, fortunately -at least for me- lightly cushioned as I struggled to move as I felt myself rub against something warm. Perhaps I should have considered myself lucky that the person wasn't wearing any armour, or my fall would have definitely hurt a lot more. Despite the rather... strange circumstance that I found myself in, it was oddly comfortable, staying in this position... Perhaps it was weird of me to say this, or rather think of it... but, I had always dreamed of being able to be so close to someone without them pushing me away... even if said person wasn't exactly able to get up. As an adult, being this close to someone meant that you were close to the said person that you were snuggling up against, though I don't even know who I had collided against.

No, I wasn't a pervert, mind you... I guess... I just felt kind of lonely at times.

... Oh goodness, what am I thinking...

I internally screamed at myself for thinking such a thing.

Sure, I had gained a great deal of friends since joining the shepherds, shared many laughs with their bright and colourful cast, though my particular role involved isolating myself during my many breaks to come up with strategies and honing my perception and reaction to ensure that the people who had trusted me with their lives lived to see another day, I couldn't waste my time in getting into some fantasies such as romance... the thought was tempting, and I already had a crush on someone soon after I was admitted to the group, but I just couldn't bring myself into risking the lives of those around me just because I wanted to entertain the things that I could only dream of.

Feelings like those only get in the way of my role in this war. Feelings like those were dangerous. I am a tactician, emotions were a dangerous factor that could easily sway a person's decisions into taking a wrong path, I had my fair share of experiences of this, be it either mine or someone else's. Besides, I was just Robin. To them, I was just someone who just mysteriously appeared one day and was admitted into the shepherd's by Chrom's insistence to Emmeryn, just for fighting by his side when local plegian bandits had come to raid a nearby town.

Amidst my sulking, I started to detect movement from below me, as well as a quiet groan from ahead of me. Opening my eyes, I glanced around me, not daring to look up at the eyes of the person whom I had tripped upon. While I thought that it was strange that they didn't notice me staying upon their body immediately after we fell, I decided to save that for later as I froze, not knowing how to handle a situation like this. From what I had already gathered, I could tell that I had fallen on top of a guy who appeared to be slightly larger than me but wasn't too bulky, though he was fairly well built. As previously mentioned, he wasn't wearing any sort of hard metal armour -thank naga- so it likely narrowed it down to a traveller of some sorts. Of course, I kept my hands to myself than to let them roam around another person's body for the sake of privacy and pride, though what had caught my attention upon turning my head to the side was the prominent colour of green sprawled across the ground, which heavily contrasted the red-carpeted flooring.

"Robin?"

oh...

 _Oh..._

My face immediately heated up upon realizing who this was, the very person whom I had been looking for in the first place. Though I suppose this was a sort of blessing from the gods... that was if the gods loved haunting mortals with embarrassing circumstances such as this. While I suppose that I was on my way to find Mark, and him bumping into me did save a lot of time on my part, the situation was... less than ideal. His hood had fallen from his head to the ground as his ruby red eyes were revealed through the few partings of his bangs. The light in them appeared to be obviously confused yet worried. I could only do my best to avert my gaze from his to avoid further embarrassment, but I suppose that it would be rude to not at least apologize for my mistake.

"Oh, uh, Mark! I-I'm sorry for... um, bumping into you?" I had said, quickly pushing my body up from his to face him, though I was careful to ensure that I didn't place my hands anywhere that they weren't meant to be. Seeing a few strands fall in front of my vision, I quickly brushed those few strands silver hairs away, tucking them over my ear. My head felt light as my face burned, though my expression soon expressed slight curiosity and confusion as he just laid there and stared back at me with a rather unreadable expression on his face. His crimson red gaze was locked in mine as he seemed to be at a slight loss for words before clearing his throat after seemingly noticing the distant look that fell upon my eyes. "Um, Robin?" He had asked me, to which I tilted my head.

"Y-yes?"

He shifted and squirmed uncomfortably from underneath me, to be honest, it was kind of cute...

... what?

"Um... would you please be as kind to get off of me? The position we are in... well, I guess I could say that any passerby of the castle could potentially get the wrong idea." He had said with a concerned smile accompanied by a slight chuckle by what I could imagine was an attempt to lighten the mood, though it was evident that the situation that the two of us were in was rather uncomfortable by the growing pink blush that dusted across his cheeks. I blinked a few times in surprise before daring to look down.

As I did so, my face immediately flared up more than it did so previously, heat rose to my cheeks creating a potentially new shade of red as I found my body to be straddling on the area just below his waist. A rather... awkward position indeed. My mouth was left agape as I immediately brought my hands up to my face in sheer embarrassment before leaning back onto the ground... or rather, Mark, in which I had forgotten somehow, though my embarrassment had somehow overridden all of my other senses of perception of the world around me as I nearly wanted to sit in a corner and cry. I couldn't bring myself to say anything as my face was laid upon his chest. While I was contented to stay there and sulk, I felt a small tap upon my shoulder as I realized that I was still on Mark.

I'm really doing great today, aren't I? Perhaps Sumia's clumsiness has rubbed off on me... no offence to her, but it almost seems as if the world has it out for her.

"Ah, r-right! S-sorry..." I exclaimed upon attempting to remove myself from his body, only to find myself stumbling off of him again. I yelped upon falling once more, the ground appeared to grow closer though I was luckily saved, once again, by Mark as he had quickly sat up and secured his arms around my waist, preventing me from smashing my face into the ground. Though my face was still heated tremendously, I was glad that I didn't have to suffer a broken and bleeding nose. Sighing, I immediately thanked him gained my bearings before he reluctantly let me go in fear of me somehow falling again with a concerned expression, though I had quickly assured him that I was fine. As he had moved to help me up, my eyes widened in realization as my plan of requesting Mark's services rose to the forefront of my mind.

"Ah yes, Mark! There was something that I wanted to as- _ack_!" I grunted as my body throbbed and pulsed in pain, collapsing back onto the ground, my grip on Mark's hand was severed causing a painful thud to echo in the hall we stood in. It was strange, Immediate concern and worry was immediately evident on the face of the turquoise-haired man in front of me as he cried out to me with distress.

"R-robin!"

I could only gasp for air as a sort of response before he had quickly knelt down to my side and held his hands out facing towards each other as his expression turned into one of concentration. I looked at him curiously through squinted eyes, catching my breath steadily despite my lightheadedness as his hands glowed in a calming frost white hue that chilled the air around me. The strange chilling glow sent shivers down my spine, though before I could comment on the familiar sight, I winced upon feeling the surge of pain that passed briefly but was still incredibly sharp. I could only hope that I didn't open any wounds, another trip to Lissa was something that I didn't particularly need right now. Mark spared me a worried glance before returning his gaze back to his hands which had pulsed a bright veil across them.

His crimson eyes had cast their attention back to me, filled to the brim with a stern concern.

"Robin, where does it hurt?" He had asked me, his hands at the ready to help relieve the pain of which I felt. "I... E-everywhere." I had blurted out in immediate response, not realizing the mistake that I had made. He looked at me with eyes full of concern yet confusion, but nonetheless nodded slowly. "Okay then..."

"..."

A brief interlude of silence took over him as he stopped, unsure of how to proceed. He averted his attention to the side as his hands withdrew and tensed slightly in an awkward fashion. A look of apprehension and doubt was cast over his face. Biting his lip. he turned his crimson red eyes back towards me.

"Um, I'm sorry to ask this again, but could you let down your cloak? At least, I hope that I can try and numb the pain..." He said softly, a more gentle and careful side of him revealing himself. I was sure that he was aware of how I felt about not having my cloak on my body, our last experience being evidence of that.

However, my body froze at the question as the six glowing and piercing eyes of an all too familiar symbol flashed in the depths of my mind, shaking me to the core as I turned to him with an expression of pure panic and fear spreading across my face, the blood coursing through my veins ran cold.

"N-no! Please, I can't do that!" I had cried out to him with a desperation of which not many have heard. My crimson eyes had stared deeply into his own as dreaded and repressed memories resurfaced from the darkest corners of my consciousness as the entirety of my back burned painfully, yet I couldn't bring myself to scream. He could only flinch in surprise at the sudden and unexpected reaction that he had drawn for me. Perhaps my shutdown was a response that would be considered acceptable and potentially expected from most people, though he had already witnessed my cloak exposed form earlier within the night, even if the majority of my body as covered with bandages.

But what was meant to be covered was what was underneath them.

My body shivered and trembled heavily from the horrid and disturbing feeling of the cluster of hands that slid across my body, reaching places that left memories too painful to bear. My breath hitched and quickly fell out of pattern as I could feel my head getting lighter, my nerves acted up. When I had visited Lissa upon receiving my first serious injury from a lucky risen who had been terrorizing one of the nearby towns of the capital, she was more than shocked to see the various and deep markings that were wrought upon my body. Thankfully she understood when I had asked her to keep quiet of this, I trusted her with something that I was scared to reveal to anybody else. I was more than aware of the blonde cleric's tendencies to spill secrets and rumors around about small things, but this matter was something that I was deadly serious about and she was more than aware of this.

I could only imagine the hundreds of possibilities that ran throughout the depths of Mark's mind at this very second upon witnessing a side of me that no one had ever seen, at least not of those that are still alive. To him, I was just a stranger, someone who had had just met earlier within the day, there was no doubt that there'd be some questions involved, though the dark corners of my mind made my body travel back in time. It was too shameful to let the common eye see what history my body had, it was a story that didn't need to be unravelled, to be read. I had fully prepared myself for the worst as the black void consumed my mind, reality slowly slipping from my grasp. I wrapped my arms around me, my hands sheltering my head from any attempt at using force.

"P-please..." I whimpered. My voice hoarse and rough, coming out as loud as a whisper, my body huddled with my hands wrapped tightly over my legs. A heavy silence had passed between the two of us as I couldn't muster the courage to say anything as flashes appeared before my eyes, terrifying me. The strange yet familiar flashes of the same bloody faces appearing before me, taunting me with their crazed and maniacal smiles as they were on death row. Their screams would wake me from the dead of night, as the gruesome image of violet tipped skewers impaling their fragile bones had left me shuddering and made my stomach churn.

Those visions... they were horrible. It was too gruesome to remember, yet it would be ingrained in my lasting consciousness. The rending of their flesh, and the weapons of malice pierced through their skin like a knife cutting through hot butter. I felt timid, nervous as my voice left my body. I couldn't bring myself to meet Mark's gaze, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes again as the thought of finding myself back _there_ was too much of a risk for me to take despite the impossibility of said possibility. All of it was a distant feeling... yet every time, it felt closer than ever.

I heard fabric shift and a small soft thud against the carpeted ground, a warm hand was placed on my hand, eliciting a small flinch. My head snapped upwards, my eyes open to find crimson red staring at me, concerned.

"Robin? What..." Mark asked me, only to receive silence and a terrified look in response. Moments had passed since my little daze, but Mark's concern only grew heavier with every passing second. I could only stare at him for a moment as reality started to settle back in. The pain had seemingly faded from my bones as the only feeling I was left with was an overwhelming awkwardness. A blush erupted across my cheeks in embarrassment. Yet I breathed a relieved sigh inside, knowing that... the moment had passed. My right hand rubbed across the back of my left. Cold sweat ran down my neck as my forehead was matted with my silver hair, along with the uncomfortable feeling of my clammy hands hidden underneath my gloves. The skin that lay underneath the cool and comforting leather burned hotter, yet the sense of dread that I often found myself trapped within had left.

"O-oh... Um, sorry... I must have... spaced out for a bit." I had awkwardly attempted to brush off the certainly strange incident with an excuse that not even I would believe. Though internally I was beating myself over the fact that I was so careless as to react in such an alarming response to my injuries. As expected, he obviously didn't buy my poor attempt at an excuse as the expression of doubt that spread across his face was more than enough of a testament of that fact. My ears even picked up upon his mutters of skepticism.

"... spaced out, huh?"

I could only whimper to myself as I instinctively drew my hands over my head. Perhaps it was just some sort of misfortune on my behalf that my... injuries had engulfed a wide range of my body, though those particular memories, or rather nightmares had always triggered at many inopportune moments as my first encounter with a risen back in Southtown was more than proof of that.

Those bloody and dead red eyes glowed menacingly at me, peering into my being, paralyzing me as their fogged breath slowly choked me. The sloppily stitched patches of their masks, their flaking skin crumbled into dust and fog. Their angered growls and howls echoing throughout the night. There may have been a good chance that the fear alone took over my system as I looked on at the beasts straight on, though I could see their faces. The faces of those that had suffered death at my hand. Their inhuman cries echoed through the daunting woods, reborn with the intent to kill.

They wanted vengeance.

I shuddered at the thought of those monstrosities, I suppose it was a blessing of sorts to have that mysterious "Marth" help eliminate many of the foul beings ridding them from existence. Perhaps it was too late to question the method of which the mysterious figure, as well as the giant ripple in the sky, came into existence, there were more than many recorded documents of creatures of darkness plaguing the land of which evil resided. Though perhaps that thought could be saved for later as the situation I found myself in was more than a handful to deal with.

"Robin?"

I flinched at the use of my name, the silence between us broken as I blinked, dragging me away from the thoughts that clouded my mind. It was a painful feeling, having to hear my name over and over again in that same tone of voice...

"O-oh, um, yes?" He seemed to sigh, though from what I could tell was that it was based more on worry rather than irritation.

"You seemed to be spacing out... again." The man in front of me had explained with my own words.

A blush was painted over my cheeks. I opened my mouth to make a retort of some kind, though nothing came out as I breathed a resigned sigh, bringing my knees closer to my chest as I felt like shrivelling up and blowing away in the wind when a breeze would pick up. Unexpectedly, I felt an unprecedented warmth fall upon the top of my head, it was an oddly soothing yet strange feeling. Though it felt a bit childish, having him pat me on the head. Seeing my face of obvious confusion, he chuckled lightly before settling on sitting in front of me with his legs crossed. "Sorry, was that a bit much?" He had asked me with a strange tone of childish innocence in his voice.

I couldn't exactly find an answer to his question as I shifted my gaze awkwardly before shaking my head. "No... it's just that I never, um... experienced something like that before?" I awkwardly tried to explain, only to make the atmosphere even more awkward... at least for me. Though Mark instead tilted his head curiously, though as he was about to speak, he seemed to pause and ponder on something before deciding to let it drop.

"I see..."

There as another moment of silence between us. I had even thought that he would have just walked off... but instead, he moved to sit down beside me. He gave me a warm smile as he did so, it reminded me of my many experiences with Chrom. The man would always like to sit down next to me when I would find myself on the training grounds either absorbed in a book or watching others train. There were a few instances where I would spar with a few of the shepherds available, though I would primarily avoid sparring with Chrom, he was a bit harsh in his ways of the heat of battle, no matter if they are friend or foe. Despite his hardy nature in combat, he was always up for a chat, whether it be about the war or everyday life.

It was a strange feeling, friendship as many would call it, or rather camaraderie, but there was always a connection that many of us shared to secure each other's well being, I found myself too talking to many of the shepherds if they appeared to have a bad day, or found themselves short of company. Having Mark sit beside me gave me a similar feeling. It was something that I welcomed with open arms, yet the thought of physical contact was something that I typically shied away from, primarily due to my introverted nature.

Yet there was something about him that calmed me... just a little bit.

"Sorry, that was just something that I often liked to do to a friend of mine." He explained softly, a reminiscent smile grew along the edges of his lips, though his concern was still present on his face. I tilted my head to the side curiously, though my nervous tendencies got the better of me as I was still unused to that of affectionate physical contact. I could only watch him with half of my face buried behind my arms and shoulders.

"I-is that so?" I asked him quietly, to which he turned his head towards me and nodded in affirmation.

"Mhm. In fact, I believe I had told you that I had previously worked as a tactician, correct?"

I nodded silently in response to his query. In fact, I believe I was the one who brought up the topic in the first place. The green cloaked man smiled gently, the edges of his lips reflected of the torches that surrounded us. However, that smile would soon grow somber, as did the light within his eyes fade ever so slightly as they took to the cold stone opposite to us.

"Like you, I had been enlisted under the forces of a fair share of lords... though I can only say that I really only enjoyed the three's company." Mark said with a soft chuckle, though he continued on with an increasingly sad stare. "Though, there have been many who many would consider far too young to have to experience the consequences and the risk that is of taking up arms."

I looked to him with a confused stare, though as I started to fit the pieces together, I looked up to him in shock.

"You don't mean... children?" Begrudgingly, he nodded. I could feel the heavy weight cast over his shoulders as my guess was correct. Mark gave an irritated sigh, though I could tell that it wasn't directed at me. Rather, he drew a hand over his own face.

"Hell... in fact, one of our later recruits would be a trained assassin... and she was only fourteen."

My eyes widened at that, they really hired children into armies to fight their battles? Were there people that were that twisted to allow those who should enjoy peace to fight on the plane of which death is a near guarantee? Though I could only imagine the reasons of why Mark would join of such people, though I had hoped from deep within me that his reasons didn't lie with just his choice of employer... though I couldn't just assume if he was even the person that I thought him to be. The turquoise-haired man seemed to notice my evident confusion when he turned only his eyes towards me before sighing.

"I know that it's a difficult concept to swallow, in fact, everyone was initially against having her take to the front line... but she was too insistent in helping shoulder our burden, even though what had to come would be far too much for any normal person to bear. Gods, her childhood must have been terrible yet she still kept smiling... for all of us, even when times were dark and our troops had low morale. She even had to face off against her own mother -adoptive mother, actually-, for crying out loud! I mean, she was a terrible person, but still!"

Mark had complained to no-one in particular, his arms spreading out in anger, though I could only watch him in astonishment. I could feel every word spoken from his mouth, they had told me how much he truly cared. Be it was it may that the topic was one that was less than desirable... I was at least glad he wasn't that kind of person.

"She wanted her adoptive mother's affection. Her final words with her had said that much... She was too young to be able to have any sort of recognizable attachment to her own mother, that she latched onto that wretched woman despite her neglect. She truly did not deserve to have to fight and survive more than she already had... but we still had to protect her."

The turquoise haired man took in a deep breath to calm himself before smiling apologetically.

"Sorry about that, I suppose I got a little off topic... but I hope that I can convince you that the people that I worked with were admirable, at the very least. I wouldn't have followed them across entire nations otherwise if I didn't." He bowed his head with a quirky smile, one of which I could only return in amusement yet awe of his descriptions.

"I suppose there are many I know who could fit the description that you gave quite well... Children. However, that term can be applied to both physical and psychological aspects of a person, though that doesn't make someone less worthy of a candidate of war. If I'm not mistaken, that reckless blonde in your group who fought Lon'qu could also potentially be added into that list. What with his thrashing and kicking at his forceful exit" He joked, to which I giggled slightly. Vaike did particularly like to entertain his dreams of besting Chrom, he always did enjoy gloating his more... unconventional hobbies and his behaviour was peculiarly strange, but that was Vaike.

"I suppose you're right. Vaike is the kind to get too full of himself in his own head, though I think he has the potential to become a strong warrior."

"I can agree with you there, despite losing badly to Lon'qu. I could tell that he had the instinct of a beast, if I were to put it into words. Not to mention that his reactions are pretty sharp, even if he does make a multitude of careless mistakes in over-dramatizing his moves or clumsily swing his weapon with a lacking technique." I could only agree with his analogy as it was rather easy for just about anybody who hasn't faced him before to easily spot all the openings he leaves. I chuckled upon imagining what kind of reaction that giving the man praise would ensue, though it would only likely lead to more and constant gloating.

"Hehe, just make sure that you don't say that to him. He's not one to hold back on praising himself." Mark seemed to chuckle at that as he nodded.

"Understood."

With that, we fell into silence once more, though it was quickly broken by Mark continuing his previous conversation with me.

"Tell me, your group consists of relatively inexperienced fighters, yes?" Mark inquired, to which I placed my hand on my chin in thought.

I was still relatively new to the shepherds; though from what I could tell and knew from Chrom, the group was experienced in handling a series of bandit cases, and they occasionally liked to travel to Ferox to train their soldiers against those who would visit the continent, it was it's main attraction after all. However, he had never had the experience of leading a force in a war. Rather, no one in Ylisse, other than the old retired veterans could claim such a thing. Not even Frederick, who had seemed to be the wisest out of all of us was but a child when the war that had ruined both Ylisse and Plegia had occurred.

Returning my attention back to him, I nodded, "Mm, I guess you can say that. We haven't particularly engaged in combat in a large scale war before, though we have dealt with bandits plaguing small villages and disagreements between some mercenary guilds or even armies."

"I see, and from what I understand, you're still relatively new to your position as the shepherd's tactician, yes?"

I flinched slightly at the comment, causing me to avert my gaze in slight embarrassment. Perhaps he didn't see me as good as the many whom he had likely encountered during his career, or perhaps he could see my inexperience. "Oh, um, yeah..." I whispered, my voice trailing off at the end in thought.

He stared at me for a moment before sighing, "Ah, I'm sorry. I don't mean any offence by that." He apologized, his voice was at least sincere.

I shook my head to reassure him that it was fine. "No, no, it's alright. It is the truth after all, I've only started working alongside them since about a month ago." I explained, to which he nodded in understanding, placing a hand on his chin in thought with a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry, from what I can tell, you have quite an excellent constitution to make for a great tactician." He had said quite keenly with a warm smile on his face. A blush formed across my own cheeks as I looked away from him in an attempt to hide it, though I could feel the smile that crept upon my lips. There have been many comments from my peers of how they approved of my ability in strategy, though perhaps earning praise from someone who was more experienced in the field than I was meant a lot more to me, at least in terms of pride.

"Is that so? Why do you say that?" I had asked him shyly. Perhaps I wasn't the best at taking praise, nor was I one to particularly fish for compliments, but I was curious as to what sort of insight he would give me with his own observations, as Miriel could be the only one considered to be able to give me any detailed information regarding my capabilities. Other than her, most of the other shepherds would just say that I lead them well and "fit the role" which, while somewhat reassuring, it wasn't any sort of particularly helpful constructive criticism, and that was something that I took seriously.

Mark returned his attention back towards the scarlet red carpet that lay underneath us, his expression morphed into one of thought before he decided to answer my question. "From what I could tell from our battle, you have a keen sense of reaction and an aptitude to be able to handle situations calmly." He held his hand up to display small sparks of electricity from his palms, to which I widened my eyes in slight surprise, though it quickly mellowed out upon recalling his natural use of wind magic during the battles. "You also seem capable of handling electricity well, even going as far as to finely adapt it to your iron sword." I smiled at that, the practice of adapting magic into weaponry wasn't something that I particularly practiced, in fact, it was something that I had come up with on the fly, and it proved to be more than effective, even if it did strain on my sword's durability.

"Thanks, but my sword needed to go under some repairs after doing that." I comment, Mark nodded in agreement.

"True, after my first few attempts at doing so, I ended up with a broken sword." He remarked, chuckling at the memory.

"But it's as you have said, the shepherds have never faced any large scale threats before, have they?" He had said with an odd amount of seriousness that contrasted the light mood that we had transitioned from drastically. I could feel a little sweat starting to return down the back of my neck as I met his gaze.

"No, they haven't, why?"

A small frown took over his face as he seemed to stare at the torches that lined the hall with a glassy and distant gaze.

"I can't say that I am particularly well versed in the history behind Ylisse, though the last I had learned from it was the story of the current exalt's, as well as your leader's father." I nodded in understanding. The tale of Chrom's father wasn't exactly one that was pleasant. The tale had told of a man who ruled over the halidom of Ylisse, crowned as the Exalt due to his lineage of descendants of Naga's chosen. He was said to be a kind and just man, though many had said that when he had caught news of the kingdom's sworn enemy, Grima, making a return in form of a vessel, he slowly found himself falling in an endless abyss of madness, causing him to slaughter many of the kingdom of Plegia. Man, woman, even children. He would come up with any excuse to execute them.

He was desperate to attack Plegia without a second thought, earning him the title of a warmonger and a despicable being. No one truly knew of what drove him to this road of needless bloodshed, no one but the three children themselves. Whether it was fear, a burning hatred towards that of Plegia and the Grimleal or potentially it was something that didn't have anything to do with Grima entirely, nobody knew, nobody needed to know.

Needless to say, it caused both countries to fall to ruins at the hand of the man that Chrom, Lissa and Emmeryn called father. They too had suffered from his mindless bloodshed. Though I have only head stories from Chrom and Lissa themselves, I could only imagine the heavy burden that had been pushed onto Emmeryn as a mere child. A child whom had lost their parents and only had their advisors to help them out, even then, most of them had turned their backs on them, believing that they had more than enough of the exalted bloodline after the incident their father had caused. Despite all the hardships she had faced, the scars she bore from her own people scorning her, she was still the kind and peace-loving ruler that we, I knew today. She brought a kingdom that was on the brink of destruction back to it's once bright and radiant light that it was before both plegian and Ylissean blood was spilt.

"The war between the Ylissean Halidom and the Mad King Gangrel is still in its early bloom. For now, we are in a peace that is quickly shattering." He turned towards me, his crimson eyes cold yet insightful. "Time will only tell when you will face the ugly truth that war is. Perhaps war itself doesn't have an appealing outlook on the outside either way, but the pressure, the anxiety that every soldier faces when it's the night before another battle they will have to win time and time again. Will it decide whether their country, the ideals of their leaders prevail? Whether or not they live or die." He takes in a deep breath before clasping his hands together, I could only sit there and attempt to comprehend the image that he was painting for me.

"I am often reminded of the impending danger that awaits me and the rest of the army when I notice how restless the people I lead are. They wake up at night, some crying or shivering. The children especially have more than enough reason to doubt or walk away, yet they stay and fight anyway." He turned his gaze towards me with a small smile on his face, "Perhaps children may be the wrong term to use here. They were warriors, fighters, willing to continue to the bitter end. Even if they are considered to be relatively young, they are more than strong enough to handle themselves out there on the battlefield. And some are even braver than I could ever be."

"Though... no matter how brave they can be, no matter how much they like to laugh in front of death's face like there was nothing to fear, there's no denying the terrifying pressure that sets upon everyone when the final act comes into fruition. The act where many tend to crumble and fall at the very last step..."

"Which would inevitably cost them their lives as a result..."

An eerie silence falls upon the two of us as the air. I shifted around on my bottom, the atmosphere grew noticeably remorseful and uncomfortable yet I couldn't bring myself to say a word as a lump formed from within my throat, preventing me from speaking, preventing me from breathing. My hand twitches upon remembering a particular dream that had become a common occurrence ever since I had become one of the shepherds. One that would always leave me dazed and startled in a cold sweat as I would always find myself short of breath, my heartbeat racing.

 _Robin..._

 _This is not your—_

 _your fault..._

 _Promise me._

 _Promise me that you'll escape from this place..._

 _Please, go..._

 _I'm... sorry..._

"You know, Robin... you remind me of a friend of mine." My attention turned back towards him as I snapped back into reality. The mood seemed to have lifted with his familiar serene and gentle smile, exerting a calm aura around him.

"O-oh, um... is that so?" He seemed to chuckle at my tentative and nervous expression, to which I pouted playfully at the realization that he was laughing to himself from my stutter but quickly returned the good-natured gesture with one of my own.

Mark hummed in approval, "She was a good friend of mine when I had started my journey as a tactician. She was actually a newly appointed pegasus knight when my group had first met her, though we found out that she was a good friend of the leader of our group since they were little."

"Childhood friends?" He nodded in response.

"That's right, apparently her friend had found her stuck in a tree when they were out hunting, it was quite the amusing if not embarrassing tale for her to tell." I smiled slightly at that, it was quite amusing to hear of coincidences like those, then again, embarrassing coincidences like those often made best friends.

"She was quiet but gentle and had a natural affinity with animals, especially with that of her own steed of which the two were near inseparable. She was also often described to be shy and timid around men and strangers in general, not to mention that she often fumbled with her words and stuttered a lot when talking to the men in our army, though we didn't really mind that... If I remember correctly, she was too scared to actually talk to me outside of battle, though it was quite amusing to see her watching from behind a tree whenever I talked to our leader." Mark let out a small chuckle at that. I smiled upon thinking about our own local clumsy pegasus knight, she would often like to watch Chrom when he trained, sitting on the sidelines with silent cheers for him. Perhaps I should ask them of how they met as well?

"Despite her withdrawn and timid personality, she was a true and brilliant fighter on the front lines. And even a good pupil when she had asked me if I could teach her the basics of tactics." He had said with a bright sparkle in his eyes, it was hard not to smile at the enthusiasm and happiness that was on his face. "But she was only able to grow that strong because she had her friend fight alongside her..." He paused for a moment in thought before he turned to stare at me with a grin. "Much like how you and Prince Chrom work, if I heard correctly?"

Heat rose to my cheeks at the thought of the blue-haired prince. "O-oh um, y-yeah... I guess that's one way to put it..." I muttered, feeling the heat in my cheeks grow hotter upon actually admitting it. I folded my arms across my body in an attempt to hold myself together, though I couldn't exactly deny what he said. Chrom was an important figure in my life and he introduced me into a world where I could be happy and free, him and the rest of the shepherds. I averted my gaze from the turquoise-haired man and frowned, perching my chin over my folded arms, my legs close to my chest. "B-but what's your point?" I said defensively, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance seeping into my voice. Mark placed his fist over his mouth to suppress a small chuckle.

"Hehe, you don't have to be embarrassed about it, Robin. I myself had someone just like that." He said with a small grin, I turned my head to look at him, my cheek resting across my arms as my eyes glinted towards him with curiosity. Seemingly understanding my reaction, he nodded. "Mm, it was the leader of our group during my first encounter with the prospect of war, my leader in life... I can tell that Prince Chrom means a lot to you, almost as if you're attached to him." He commented with a sly grin, earning a soft punch in the shoulder, eliciting a small chuckle from him and a small smile from me, though I remained silent, wanting to hear more.

After the two of us settled down, he grew silent. Staring off into space for a moment, seemingly deep in thought before his eyes lighted up, a smile growing across his face. I tilted my head towards him curiously as he turned towards his side and unclasped a brown leather sheath from his hip. It had a rather unique shape with leather straps often occurring along its length due to its rather uncommon nature. My eyes widened in realization upon watching him draw the blade from the polished leather.

"I was much like you when I awoke that day on the plains... she was the very first thing that I saw." He said upon removing the scabbard from the blade, revealing a familiar golden and slick edge that trailed near the end of the scabbard. It was a blade that I came to remember well as it was the same weapon of which Mark had used to defeat me during our match in Ferox's arena. I couldn't forget the maintained and seemingly flawless aesthetic of the blade, it's edge gave the impression that it was more than capable of causing a shallow cut just from holding your finger close to it.

My eyes widened upon hearing those few words...

I was much like you...

when I awoke that day on the plains...

Despite the questions that ran through my mind, I couldn't bring myself to ask the simple question.

Just like me?

"She cared for me when she found me and took me in when I had nothing, I owe her everything..." He continued. My heart squeezed lightly, the same reminiscent feeling of that of when I had first met Chrom.

Upon holding it up for the both of us to see, its features glowed into perspective as the details inscribed upon its blade became visible. Various long and refined marks were lined along the edge of its golden exterior, the branches curled in a fashion that quite resembled wind. The ruby pommel shined within the dimly lit hall, it's transparent core burned brightly with the image of the torch's flames burning within its confines. Despite the blade's seemingly flawless exterior, I could make out the quieted marks of red that lined across the blade, seemingly worn and faded through time.

With a long exhale of breath, he laid the back of his hands gently against his lap. His hands acting as a perch of sorts for the blade as if he were cradling it. A soft reminiscent smile grew across his face as he drew his finger across its golden marked edge. "This blade... it was her's. Though for whatever reason, she gave it to me..." He stared at it for a moment longer before those few words that I was waiting to hear was whispered under his breath.

"She gave me a purpose. A reason to fight."

"For her."

 _A purpose, huh?_

With a small chuckle, he reached out for his sheath to place the blade away. The golden glint of the sword's edge hid beneath the leather covers, away from peering eyes yet it's ruby pommel remained shining. The crimson-eyed man turned his attention back towards me with a small smile. "Perhaps what I'm trying to say is..."

He paused for a moment seemingly staring deeply within my eyes. Perhaps I would feel uncomfortable under different circumstances such as my various talks with Miriel, to which she always seemed to be observing my movements and thoughts, though I felt my body calming under its own will when I stared right back, rather than feeling as if I were shackled. The colour red of which I had feared before had instead had a rather peculiar spell cast on me, a more comforting feeling washed over me. Despite the strange blank look he was giving me, I couldn't bring myself to tear my own eyes away as his crimson ones fascinated me. Within them, I could see curiosity, concern... and sadness?

"... it's okay to be scared. And it's okay to rely on others. You shouldn't have to carry the weight of the world on your own shoulders."

I blinked in obvious confusion.

"huh?"

"Your eyes, I can tell." He murmured under his breath. I myself was quite surprised and shocked at his perceptiveness, could he really see what slept within me? The crimson-eyed man shrugged, gaining interest in the carpet floor once again. "Perhaps I don't know what you're dealing with Robin, but you have people who want to stand beside you. Good people, from what I can tell. Perhaps you may still be young in the art of war, though the people you surround yourself with won't let you down, have faith that they will help see you through to the end" He said, placing a reassuring hand on top of my shoulder, eliciting a small shudder.

"H-how...?" My voice came out, comparable to that of a whisper.

He offered me a reassuring smile. "Apologies if I am overstepping my boundaries, but your eyes told me something... concerning." The man paused for a moment, staring towards his lap, contemplating something while I simply sat there, terrified of what this meant for me.

Does he truly know?

He lifted his gaze back up to meet mine, "But again, the secrets that you hold close to you are meant for those that you find close in reach. That's something that doesn't concern me, and from what I could tell, it should stay that way." I internally sighed a breath of relief, though it scared me that he was this observant. Perhaps that was what years of experience did to a person like him. I looked towards him, though he surprisingly nodded in response as if knowing what I was going to ask him.

"I'm quite sure that you'll be capable of such a thing soon enough... but don't worry, your secret, at least whatever it is, is safe with me."

"Really?" I had asked him with a hopeful shine in my eyes. In response, he nodded with a gentle smile which I returned gladly. My heartbeat steadying in ease, "Thank you, truly." I whispered, clasping my right hand over my left.

"No worries... besides, you can generally gain a basic yet fundamental understanding of perception through watching your opponents and friends alike... Perhaps it's not best to think of it as stalking... think of it as conducted experimentation and research! After all, it is a basic rule for us tacticians that we do our best to read the opponent, right?" He awkwardly stumbled to explain himself after his rather... questionable explanation. However, I could only laugh in response.

It was, of course, one of the most fundamental rules in strategy to try and figure your opponent out, though his mention of "stalking" was too funny. Miriel's actions were always described as "conducted research" though it was incredible how she could say it with a straight face as her keen gaze could probably drill holes into a boulder, even if her intent was to delve into the human brain's psyche, they were much to delicate for a strong stare like her's.

"Hehe, of course." Mark nodded before moving to stand up with a small grunt. The warmth that radiated from beside me gradually slipped away from my grasp.

"Well then, thank you for the relieving chat, Robin. Though I'm afraid that..." He paused upon feeling a tug on his cloak, to which he turned to look at me curiously.

"If it's okay... w-would you be able to stay here with me... there's something that I needed to ask of you." My mouths had spoken those words without a second thought. As if it was from the natural urge to keep me company, though I was right, I did have something I very urgently needed to ask him. He tilted his head curiously in response to my request, a slightly wary look on his face causing sweat to trickle down my neck due to the anxiety that I felt.

"Is... is that so?" I nodded slowly, my gaze averted from his in slight embarrassment.

"Yes... I'm sorry I didn't bring it up earlier, I must have... forgotten."

"... Okay then." He said with a sigh.

The two of us had then settled on just sitting on the ground for now, steering out of the way in case anyone had wanted to pass through, it would have been rude to just sit right in the middle after all.

Silence passed between us, tension and awkwardness hung heavily in the air, though Mark had patiently waited for me to speak of what I had wanted to tell him, which I was grateful for. Mustering my courage, I turned to face him.

He had an oddly calming presence around him. Despite my fumbling for words, I found myself quickly gaining my bearings, carefully choosing my words before speaking. Perhaps it was his experience in leading people as a tactician that could potentially serve to improve his... passive aura, you could say, with the people around him. Another thing that served to intrigue me.

"Um, I wanted to ask... what you'll be doing after you leave Ferox? If you don't mind me asking... Khan Basilio had mentioned that you would likely have left by the morning..." I muttered quietly, though it was loud enough for Mark to hear every word. It was an attempt to try and ease him into the big question, but it would also provide a bit of insight towards his person. He seemed to be surprised at this as his eyes widened slightly before adopting a more controlled expression with a small smile.

Placing a hand on his chin, he turned his gaze to the ground, seemingly in thought before returning his attention back to me with an answer. "I plan on continuing to travel the land. There's a lot that I have not explored yet, and I would say that I myself am quite an adept traveler... However, my reasons for doing so... well, I guess It's mostly for adventuring." He had answered with an oddly convincing tone, though to anybody else, his reasoning would be sound, but what Basilio had said to me previously was brought to the forefront of my mind.

 _"_ _Well, the boy said that he was looking for something, or rather, someone."_

 _"Do you know who he is looking for?"_

 _"I'm afraid that's not my place to tell you, lass. That's something that only the boy can answer."_

It confused me that he had wanted to cover up the truth with a rather simple and plain, yet convincing lie, though I had assumed that it was likely a more personal reason. "Basilio had said that you were looking for someone... Is that true?" I had asked tentatively, wishing that I didn't rouse any suspicion or anger if the topic was a sensitive one. Though I could fell my body tense up upon feeling him flinch slightly at my inquiry, a frown soon taking over his lips though he calmed down instantly after, returning his gaze to the carpeted floor.

"He told you, huh?..." He muttered under his breath with a bittersweet smile. I felt guilty for saying something of the sort, or possibly making the impression that I was accusing him of doing something dangerous that would require him to tell a lie. "A-ah, I'm sorry... I don't mean to insinuate that I suspect you of anything bad... I was... just curious, really." I had quickly assured him, to which he laughed. I could only raise my brow in confusion and concern, though he quickly waved my worries away with the shake of his head. "It's okay. I supposed it was a bit of a half-assed response." He leaned his back against the stone wall, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, his interlaced hands lay upon his lap quietly.

"Well, I guess it is true. I am looking for someone... though, I'm afraid that who it is, I can't tell you." I frowned at his answer, visibly dissatisfied with his response, though I understood that it was something that he could keep to himself if need be. He offered me a kind rub of the shoulder with a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry, as much as I want to tell you, I can't, believe me. I like you, Robin, I really do. You're kind and smart, not to mention a fellow tactician like me... but I can hardly say that I can trust you with something as important as this... trust me, it's... a more personal reason, if anything. I wouldn't want to burden you with my goals or anything."I nodded slowly, slightly disappointed that he wouldn't reveal his true motives, though again, I understood his reasons completely, we were just strangers after all. Besides, we only really got acquainted a few hours ago.

"I understand, thank you for at least telling me the truth." He chuckled, scratching his chin with the point of his index finger.

"Yeah, but you were the one who pointed it out in the first place, Ms Sherlock." I scoffed in response, pouting my lips, though we broke into a nice moment of shared laughter together soon after.

As our laughter died down, the two of us fell into a comfortable silence. One that felt oddly reminiscent of our conversation a few hours prior.

Mark lifted his gaze and turned his attention towards one of the few carved out openings in the hallway, the night sky full in view. He turned back to me, a gentle smile on his face, "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me? It's not everyday people wander around at this time of night looking for somebody like me." He was right, it was indeed rather late. To be precise, it was probably past midnight due to Flavia's rather arrogant and impatient attitude, claiming that she wouldn't be able to handle not celebrate her party if they were to wait until the next day had passed like normal people... Then again, the blonde woman was far from normal in my books. Though the question had brought my attention back to my original intent of finding him in the first place as I let out an internal embarrassed chuckle at my forgetfulness.

"Ah yes, that's right. So you had mentioned that you were a tactician previously correct?" His smile seemed to quickly morph into a small frown as his general expression fell. Instantly, I felt all courage drain from my blood, discouraging me from continuing forward. I felt bad for spoiling his happy mood, but this was something that I needed to bring up, I didn't make an entire list of reasons why I should ask him to join the shepherds beforehand for nothing. Mark nodded, giving me the sign to continue.

"I uh... well, I was wondering if you would be able to lend your services to my group... We could use all the help that we can get, after all, you are an extremely capable warrior. I think your match against me more than proves that fact." Mark's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden and unexpected offer, his head cocked to the side in slight disbelief.

"You mean Prince Chrom's shepherds?" he had asked me, to which I nodded eagerly. He seemed to think on it for a moment, a small sigh escaping his lips as he dragged his hand through his messy turquoise hair, though he also had a small smile curve upwards at the end of them, which didn't escape my perception as he chuckled quietly. "Well, it's not like I haven't been enlisted to fight under a noble before..." Mark resumed his calm watch of the scarlet red ground, likely weighing his options before coming back to me with a response. My hopes rose upon seeing his ruby red eyes return to meet my own.

"... would you allow me some time to think this over?" He had asked me after the long interval of silence. While it wasn't a confirmed answer, it was one that meant that he wasn't completely against the idea. It was an answer that gave me hope. I nodded eagerly with a bright smile on my face, causing him to smile as well.

"That's alright, we'll likely still be here by the morning since we need to reach back to the capital. Our leader, the exalt worries quite a bit for her people, but it's a good virtue to have as a leader." I had said to him, to which he nodded in understanding.

"I see, I hope to be able to tell you then."

Nodding to myself, I moved to stand up, grunting at the slight bit of work that it took to steady myself, not wanting to fall over again. Upon reaching the point in which I stood on my own two feet, my eyes widened upon remembering that the party in celebration for our victory was likely occurring at this current moment. While I wasn't a particularly big party animal like many others in the shepherds, it was an opportunity of which I would be able to get to know a bit more of Mark. It also made me curious as to what kind of drunk he was... Perhaps the silent type was the most probable answer for someone like him, though seeing him stumble around the place drunkenly did give me an amusing image in my mind, if not concerning. I turned towards him, a curious smile on my face.

"Are you planning on going to the party that Khan Flavia is holding, Mark?"

Mark had raised his head up to me in surprise, though his head was cocked to the side before a look of realization dawned upon his face. "Oh, I forgot about that... well, I wasn't originally planning on going, I was just content to just stay here in the library and look at a few books before I retire for the night... In fact, I came out here to look for extra candles, as the ones I had been using previously had run out of use." He admitted sheepishly with a goofy grin, which made me laugh.

"I think I can agree with you there, though I do admit that you probably have a wider field of experience in staying up late for whatever you're doing..." I had joked, though as a moment came to pass, I looked back at Mark, who was beginning to get up from the ground himself, slowly dusting himself and his cloak off. "Maybe... maybe we could go together? I mean, if you're up for it... I think it's a good opportunity to introduce you to some of our members, especially Chrom... then again, if he's drunk, then we'd probably have to wait till the morning." I had suggested to him with a slight blush on my face, the reason? I wasn't exactly sure. Mark was in the process of standing up himself. He seemed surprised at this and appeared to think for a moment before slowly nodding.

"You know what? Sure... I suppose I could get acquainted with more of your members before I decide on whether or not I should join the Shepherds." A smile was brought upon my face as I beamed at him. "Great! Let's go then!" I had exclaimed enthusiastically before grabbing his hand. It was strange, being this so worked up for partying... people had often told me of how quiet I was as the days passed, many have expressed their concerns in my often isolated state during my free time. The only other occasion in which I would usually have to be required to attend was Frederick's... training, as he would like to call it. Though to be fair, it was more like torture at times.

My rush of excitement fell upon feeling Mark root his feet into the ground, not budging an inch.

"Oh, you go on ahead, I... need to do something first." He had said to me with an apologetic tone, which made me stop in my tracks in slight surprise. I could only stare at him for a moment, slightly confused as to why he couldn't accompany me now... Oh, it was probably because he wanted to find some candles first so he doesn't forget later.

"Oh, um, I see..." I had responded in deep embarrassment of myself, noticing how I had grabbed his hand, I let it go reluctantly. Perhaps I weirded him out a bit with my sudden burst of enthusiasm, I was told that I was pretty weird... though I was luckily assured by the shepherds that they meant that in a good way. Perhaps they had decided to bunch me together with the likes of Miriel. While I did like her quite a bit as a conversation partner, she did get a little much at times, even for me. He offered me a reassuring smile, seemingly as if he was telling me otherwise before he slipped his satchel back on his shoulder. Surprisingly, he also patted my head, much like the one I had experienced earlier with the same amount of care and reassurance.

"Don't worry, I'll find you soon, trust me."

I reluctantly smiled back, trusting his words as I turned my back to him. Saying our goodbyes for now, we split to walk our own directions. Though the familiar glimpse of purple that sprouted from the lips of his bag's opening had gained my attention, though he was quick to turn sideways, blocking my view off from the peculiar object. I couldn't exactly place my finger upon it, but it seemed to look familiar, not to mention exude an aura that tugged at the back of my mind, though I waved them off for now.

There was a party that I needed to go to.

* * *

 _ **(Mark)**_

As Robin and I split paths, I advanced forward towards the direction of where the storage chamber was. Slowing my advance, I turned around to find Robin walking back the other direction of which I had assumed she had originally come from. As she slowly disappeared from sight, I quickly made a sharp turn into a branching pathway of Ferox's long halls. It was a rather more secluded area with little to nobody in these parts, though that was what I had intended to come here for.

Taking in a deep breath, I leaned against the wall as my eyes closed in deep concentration, a realm of darkness enveloped around me. Shutting out all other senses I had, my head felt clearer as I had envisioned small flames appearing around me, illuminating the dark abyss of which I was enclosed within. The flames were calm and gentle, yet burned brightly upon flickering to life. Each individual flame portrayed a different colour than the others.

Some flames burned more brightly and prominent than others, there was a large abundance of embers located a fair distance away from me, likely stationed on a lower floor than the one I was on. I could overhear a vast cast of voices from the array of flames before me as I observed the arrangement of colours in front of me, though they were an unnecessary factor that didn't require my attention, instead, they hindered my attention, so there was no need to listen to their small talk. The mass of gathered flames had smouldered into wisps of smoke as I decided to shut out their presence, leaving behind no trace of their existence as I rather focused on the ones that were close to my own location.

I suppose you could call this ability of mine a "gift" of sorts. It was something that I had learned to have inherited from my mother, though my powers acted in a much different way than my brother and sister's own powers did. Then again, I was told that I was given personal training from my father to hone my talent, though being an amnesiac, I couldn't exactly remember those memories when I was told of this. My siblings had said that the man was kind once, when our family was complete... but he slowly grew to madness from the loss of our dear and beloved kind mother. It broke him, causing the man which I used to call my father to raise me, the eldest son in the family into a warrior to which he could use for his own gain, his own quest for power.

My power allowed me to detect the souls of those around me, allowing me to understand the nature and appearance of a person... even weaponry. It was a skill of which I had learned to utilize effectively in strategy and tactics, especially when I worked alongside Eliwood, Hector... and Lyn.

Flames flickered to life, though their numbers were much more limited than before. I smiled, seeing that the general area of which I stood in was pretty much empty, apart from a few guards that stood at the end of the hallway, I was alone. One particular flame had caught my attention within a fair distance from me. My hand was drawn towards it, beckoning it to come closer as all the other flames faded into the darkness, away from my view. Upon inspecting the flame up close, it was a rather pretty soul. Pearl silver in colour with a faint glimmer of white embers flecking off of its top. It was quite small in contrast to the other flames that were situated around me, it looked fragile as it fell onto my palm. Though, my curiosity had slowly evolved into surprise as I noticed a faint glimmer of deep violet flicker within the core of the flame.

A frown fell upon my face as I noticed it's movements seeming to stop momentarily before flashing an intense and prominent red. My breath hitched upon watching it shake and tremor violently before returning to its original colour. Upon focusing my concentration upon the soul, casting my hand over it. I watched as it slowly animated and materialized into a familiar figure. It was the silhouette of a girl, one who wore a large coat over their body and had their hair fashioned in light pigtails. She appeared to grab one side of her head, the other hand went to stabilize herself on what was presumably a wall.

 _Robin..._

My concerns only grew upon seeing the silver silhouette of the shepherd's tactician slowly ease into a walk, seemingly shrugging the intense red pain off from her soul, though the violet sparks within her soul pulsed heavily before falling back into a steady rhythm. I could only stand there, trying to comprehend what that meant. I had often seen cases of sickness and illness within people, though those usually resulted in the visual effect of a web of sorts, slowly encasing the soul until it suffocated and smouldered permanently with no way off returning.

I opened my eyes, adjusting easily to the dimly lit hallway of which I stood in. The white flame left only a faint trace that only I could see before it dimmed out of view, it's light engulfed by the black abyss, gone but not forgotten. A heavy frown curled at the ends of my lips as my brows furrowed in confusion. She couldn't be sick... right? Perhaps it was something else... She didn't show any signs of illness of any kind when I had talked to her, though there was the glaring issue that we only did officially meet earlier today, as well as the moment that the two of us had experienced earlier showing deep running signs of scarring, likely mentally, though physically is an option as well. From how I had met her during one of the earlier days of my stay here, I could tell that it was something that ran deep. Perhaps I should have paid more attention towards her behaviour.

Her eyes... there was something within them that I couldn't exactly understand...

I shook my head, pushing away the thought for now as I had important issues to attend to...

Sighing, I quickly slipped the satchel off from my shoulder as I laid it gently onto the cold ground. Digging around the confines of the leather bag with a small frown upon my face, I paused and blinked upon finding what I had intended to find and I slowly and carefully pulled out a familiar cyan blue book. Its hard yet pristine cover was littered with the painted details of snowflakes and embroidered with a golden outline like a rectangular frame, though what sat in the centre of it was a stone. It was a rich crystalline blue in colour with its pristine shape moulded into that resembling a tear droplet, it's reflective yet cloudy transparent surface glowed dimly within the dark hallway. The gem radiated something powerful... perhaps to the common people, it would be a valuable gem of sorts. Though I was more than aware of what it truly was.

I took a moment to simply stare at the tome in its entirety, memories both good and bad drawing forth from the depths of my mind. Reaching my hand out, I gingerly glided my hand along the stone's chilled surface. As expected from previous experiences, it was cold to the touch, icy even as strands of light emanated from the gem to float into the air like a breeze of cerulean wind before quickly disintegrating and evaporating into nothingness. I quickly yet carefully set the book aside on the floor, making sure that it was kept in good condition and avoided any damage. After doing so, I reached my hand into another compartment within the satchel, drawing out a small box that was crafted to the length of my hand.

Opening it, revealed a cluster of flowers kept in pristine condition. A soft array of green, blue and white glowed softly in the dim moonlight, radiating a divine power of sorts. Picking one out from the rest, I held it out in front of my face, admiring it's delicate and beautiful features. It's lush green stalk was raised high and long before curling to provide a support near the end for the sky blue blossom of the flower's petal leaves that were curved outwards in a bell-shaped fashion. I had often been told that these type of flowers were extremely rare, only found in difficult and dangerous terrain.

I had heard that people called it a Naga's Bell.

Gliding my finger over the stone once more, murmured words spilled from my mouth as a faint cyan glow filled the room. The strands of magical energy once more took to the air around me before I waved my hand in a circular motion to collect the string of magic. I imbued the spell with the bell of the flower as it glowed a bright blue hue before the flower's beautiful and soft exterior became encased with crystalized ice and shattered.

Perhaps to any other person, they would have watched in shock due to the supposed rarity of this peculiar object, as well as it's worth, to some it would even be considered to be an act of sacrilege. But unlike them, I was more than aware of what I was doing, in fact, I have done this many times prior to this.

A rift of soft light opened before me, illuminating the halls with it's iridescent and luminous glow. The beacon slowly shaped into a featureless figure before a wave of colour washed over it, giving it a great amount of depth as the mannequin sprouted long grassy green hair and pale white skin patched itself quickly along their limbs. Veils of string wrapped around their body before crossing over themselves forming a scaly set of clothes. Their slumbering eyelids lifted to reveal bright green eyes that had caused more than a fair share in rousing painful memories, though I said nothing during their reveal. Upon fully forming, the light blasted a small harmless wave of energy that appeared to soothe my soul, if only momentarily. The figure let out a small breath as if taking in the air around her despite their ethereal form, the brilliant beacon of light was absorbed into the female figure's skin, causing it to softly glow a light blue and her appearance grow translucent.

"Lady Naga..." I had said, giving a slight bow to the goddess, to which she held up her hand to allow me to resume my previous position. The goddess in front of me maintained a neutral look with impassive eyes and a soft frown on her face, though one of her brows were raised in slight curiosity.

"What is it that you need to call upon me, Sir Mark?" Her gentle voice echoed throughout the small corridor.

I look up at her, meeting her gaze. She could see the impending clouds that formed within my mind but decided not to question it for now as my intentions for summoning her were still not yet clear. "I wish to ask for your guidance if you will." Her eyes widened slightly, very rarely have I actually had the need to ask the divine dragon for help due to one of our previous encounters leading into only unanswered questions on my behalf, as well as her inability to answer them. Perhaps I was deeply annoyed by this prospect but I had convinced myself that there must have been a good reason for her doing so. Naga nodded in response, seemingly recovering from the direct ask for help.

"Is that so?... Very well then, what is it that you wish to ask?" She had said calmly, her face returning back to that even and impassive expression that I was so used to seeing of her.

"I have been requested by Robin of Prince Chrom's shepherds to join them for the war against Plegia." I had said simply, though the subject of my request was more than enough to earn a raised brow from her, curiosity and doubt glinted within her bright emerald eyes as she folded her arms, yet the silky veil that wrapped around her body flowed freely in the air, it's movements uninterrupted.

"But why would you ask such a thing? Are you not already on your quest to exact vengeance on the fell dragon Grima?" She had inquired, her tone bordered more on the line of passive curiosity and patience. Naga's query asked more for her to know of my reasoning, though I myself wasn't exactly sure on the reason.

But I had not forgotten of what the fell dragon had done, and I never intend to.

"Believe me, I have not forgotten... however, I..." I trailed off near the end, though Naga had picked up upon what I had meant to say.

"You see something in her." The divine dragon had finished, causing me to stare at her evenly.

Naga continued on to further detail, "The tactician girl... You seem... unsure about her." Perhaps it shouldn't have come as much as a surprise as it did then, but she was right. The silver-haired tactician of Prince Chrom's tactician returned to the forefront of my mind, the image of her smile contrasted that of the fear that was held within her ruby red eyes. There was something about Robin that I didn't quite understand, though I intended to find out what.

"I suppose that's one way to put it." I shrugged, nodding to confirm that the goddess was correct in her assumptions to which she nodded in return in a sense of understanding, though her face expressed her small desire to ask more of the crossroads that I had found myself standing in front of. Carefully choosing the words to construct my answer, I turned to her.

"Before this encounter, I had met with Robin after leaving the Library." She nodded, her hands serenely folded over her abdomen.

"Yes, I had witnessed your conversation with her, so you do not have to explain the entire prospect of your encounter." I paused for a moment before nodding dumbly. Perhaps it was the slight shock that shut me up from rambling about the talk I had with Robin, though it was most likely for the best that I had stopped there, or else I might have spent too much time sharing my thoughts. Though it did sadden me that I wasn't given the freedom to share my thoughts on this interesting matter, though then again, there were only a few who could endure my 'self' when I had that shine in my eyes.

Like her...

"I see... I guess that makes things easier, so I suppose I'll get straight to the point." I had said, quickly regaining my composure with a small cough, covered by my fist to clear my throat.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?"

Naga seemed hesitant to answer, yet I could see how uncomfortable she felt on the matter, which was quite peculiar. I had never seen the goddess react in such a matter, though quickly after a moment's worth of though, she sighed, her gaze meeting mine, though I could see a shadow of reluctance cast over them.

"... Yes."

I raised my brow in slight surprise. It was quite rare to get such a definitive answer from the dragon, though there was still the large question at hand that needed to be asked.

"Really? Can I ask what is it then?" As expected, the divine dragon shook their head in denial.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you." She said with an even tone in her voice, her will seemingly unmoving yet I asked the obvious anyway.

"Why?"

"It is not my place to say." Naga answered, the tone of definitiveness and finality within her voice ended any other complaints that I had as I settled on nodding, even if my face still held that shred of annoyance and reluctance, yet it also held a hint of understanding.

"Very well then." Nodding, Naga's posture relaxed.

"So, to answer your question, I ask what it is that you desire. Which path of the crossroads that you have found yourself upon do you feel drawn towards following?" My eyes widened slightly in response to her question.

"Do you...?" I had asked her, despite my control, fear and concern were evident through the tone of my voice. Though my doubts were quickly washed away with the shake of her head.

"No, I do not mind which path you choose here, this quest and it's completion is handled by your own hands, not mine... but I do warn you that the choice you make must be chosen with absolution."

"I... I see."

I take in a deep breath to calm myself. Allowing my mind the privilege of contemplating my decision before I came to a final answer. An answer that won't be swayed by the budding worries of doubt. Perhaps travelling with Robin and Prince Chrom would certainly require that my search become much more limited and rushed, though there was no denying the fact that Ylisse had a great deal of knowledge concerning that of Plegia and the Fell Dragon, or at least that's what I had presumed. Perhaps I could ask the exalt for such resources... I was more than aware that I would be given a part to play if I were to take on the role of a shepherd of Ylisse, though I was prepared for such matters.

There was also the matter of Robin.

The silver-haired tactician had piqued my interest since my first encounter with her in one of the many halls of Ferox, of which she collided against me in a small accident. Her strange cloak pattern was already a giveaway that she wasn't particularly a native to Ylisse, and many had shrugged it off as a sort of fashion statement. Prince Chrom and Robin themselves had explained to me that she was an amnesiac, though the talk that we shared a few moments prior was evident that she was aware of more... more of her past. This only served to brew up more questions.

Why is she here?

What purpose does she have in joining Prince Chrom's Shepherds?

Perhaps she didn't want to be arrested on the spot if she were some sort of spy for Plegia, though her bonds with the shepherds had shown that she was more than attached with them. She looked as if she felt at home with them. Despite all of the spies that I knew, there were very few that were capable of replicating such emotional attachments.

Despite the storm of queries that my mind endlessly worked to entertain, the image of the fear in her eyes...

 _"N-no! Please, I can't do that!"_

 _"P-please..."_

I was more than aware of what her behaviour would entail. The way she put her hands over her head as if she was to shelter herself from any harm, the crack in her voice that stemmed from a deep fear, the tears that ran from her puffed eyes.

... Perhaps it was more than the matter of being caught.

It was something out of fear...

 _But of what?_

I opened my eyes, the world around me returned in gaining the vibrancy of colours before adjusting to the blackness, the white moon had escaped the view that the opening of the castle's walls provided, though it wasn't needed now as I would find myself walking towards Khan Flavia's party soon enough.

 _My decision was clear_

"I wish to ally myself with Prince Chrom and his shepherds, at least for the time being." I had said with an evenness in my voice, of which she seemed to pick up before nodding in understanding, a soft smile on her face.

"Very well then." The divine dragon said softly as her body started to shimmer and dissolve in a faint blue light.

 _I want to help her_

"I wish you luck, Sir Mark. Do be careful in your next journey... the road ahead is one that is clouded with a shadowed mist, one that I cannot foresee, but I'm sure that you're more than capable of turning the tides to your favour."

"We shall see, and thank you, Lady Naga."

* * *

 _Log 3 - Regna Ferox Pt.3_

 _The night has come to a close as I am finally able to return from Khan Flavia's rather tiresome party._

 _Not even the likes of Wallace, Hector and Sain could hold a candle to the sheer amount of energy that the room exerted, though it was primarily by her own hand that I could feel such a powerful presence within the large wooden doors that led to Ferox's mess hall._

 _It was certainly a relief to be able to return back to my humble table back in the room provided for me for my services towards Basilio._

 _I was also able to have a nice chat with the present shepherds that had arrived in Ferox, and it was a pleasant surprise to see that Lon'qu had joined them as well._

 _The brunette myrmidon's company, while often quiet, was enjoyed greatly. He was a man that worked diligently and hard to achieve his goals, and sparring with him had always put me on my heels._

 _Prince Chrom was also a nice conversation partner when Robin had properly introduced me to him and I'd like to say that our chat went quite well, even leading to my inclusion within the ranks of the shepherds. I had appreciated his honesty in the matter of referring to a more casual type of approach rather than that of diplomatic, and I was glad that I didn't have to work under a snotty noble of sorts, though there was this one silver blue-haired noble that flirted with most of the women... he reminded me much of Sain, though perhaps it would be more fitting if I said that he practically was Sain if Sain was a noble._

 _A warmth spread across my chest upon seeing the happiness that Robin's expression radiated upon hearing my answer for her request._

 _Her smile painfully reminded me of that of Lyn's._

 _It saddened me that I had to be suspicious of her, but I was more than aware of what competent spies who were worth their gold were capable of._

 _Despite that, we continued talking, it was pleasant to say the least._

 _In fact, the company of the shepherds were quite pleasant as they all had welcomed me with open arms._

 _There was this mage in particular that I had found myself talking to quite often, Miriel, I believe her name was._

 _Her goal in researching the physics of... well, everything was quite admirable and fascinating at the same time._

 _I look forward to talking with her more, even if her method of speech can occasionally outwit even me._

 _There was also the intriguing prospect of this man that could seemingly vanish from sight as if he were some sort of ghost. Miriel had already gone to work in studying this phenomenon, though perhaps it can give the man some of the attention he deserves, besides, he was a good man from what our conversations had surmised._

 _Anyways, Chrom had notified all of the shepherds that we would be leaving back to Ylisse in the morning, meaning that I would have little time to continue studying for now, which was a supposed inevitable prospect._

 _Though that particular book I had found was apparently not catalogued within Ferox's library, though they allowed me to take it if no one was there to pick it up by the time we would leave._

 _The subject of that particular tome still disturbs me deeply, though I wasn't able to do anything about it for now. I would arouse too much suspicion if I were to accidentally make an explosion of sorts, and I was rather tired._

 _I had a long road ahead of me_

 _And I feel as if I was one step closer to finding my target._

 _-o-_

 _Dear Lyn_

 _Today was rather exhausting, though enjoyable all the same._

 _I have been enlisted within a small military group called the Shepherds, which are led under the leadership of Ylisse's Prince Chrom._

 _It fascinated me that their group was so small yet so famous for their ability to handle many of Ylisse's bandit problems as well as their kindness in volunteering to help some of the villagers from time to time._

 _In fact, they reminded me of Lyndis' Legion._

 _Hehe, I wonder if you remember..._

 _We had the stoic and strong commander of our group, the flirt, a clumsy yet strong pegasus fighter, a bouncy cleric, and a dedicated mage._

 _A novice tactician... and our fearless leader._

 _..._

 _It's hard having to see such a group as a whole, while ours is broken and split. Each one of our members living their lives as they would after the war._

 _I miss them..._

 _I miss you._

 _Perhaps I may have convinced myself with the reasoning that I should have to keep watch over Robin as a potential suspect... which was something that I deeply didn't want to admit,_

 _But perhaps I just didn't want Robin to suffer the same life that I am forced to live for the rest of my days._

 _A life... without the person who was most important to us, gone from our side._

 _Perhaps I am rambling on, I am quite tired after all._

 _You often did like to drag me back to be when I would be hunched over the various papers that were sprawled over my desk, writing down notes and new strategies, or even writing logs in that journal that I kept at your insistence. But even if I started protesting against it, all of my complaints would be silenced by your small giggles and your warmth within my arms giving peace to my soul._

 _... that sounded really sappy, hehe._

 _But I can't say that it isn't true._

 _I wouldn't want to annoy you with my constant fears and reminiscence, though I do hope that you know how much you mean to me._

 _I will never forget you._

 _I love you._

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Well! Long time no see, everybody.**

 **Sorry, I haven't updated at all in the last few months, exams are pretty much next week and all my other subject assignments were handed in a few days ago, so I don't have to spend too much time staying up late to finish a project. I suppose I have some free time on my hand now.**

 **I did have a rough start to this chapter a long time ago, though I had always ended procrastinating doing it or came to a stop upon fearing in continuing, and I'm sorry for that. I can only hope that I will strive to continue without too much hesitation, after all, you guys are interested enough in following this story, so thanks.**

 **I can only hope that the chapter meets your guy's standards, there were a lot of parts which I found difficult to write, or at least come up with so I guess that's one part that I need to work more on. It did end up becoming pretty long after all.**

 **Also, any queries concerning Robin, believe me when I say that I am more than aware of what I am doing, and her situation will be revealed later within the story (just so people don't get too confused as to why she has memories before her "amnesia") There's also the matter of Mark's powers being an interpretation of an already pre existing ability in the game as well, so I hope it's not too weird.**

 **Anyways, it's about midnight by the time I post this and I'm pretty tired. I don't have Lyn to drag me back into bed so I guess I'll have to do it myself! Hehe.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Ignis**


	4. Late party hangovers & Meeting the exalt

_Elibean Log 4 - Meeting Kent and Sain... officially, that is._

 _Well, a lot has happened today._

 _That is to say that the day hasn't even finished yet as I am currently writing on horseback behind Kent._

 _Well to start off..._

 _Not only do we have new companions on our journey, but a quest as well!_

 _This morning had been... eventful, to say the least._

 _As morning dawned, I was once again reminded of how much more Lyn was an early bird than I was during my short stay with Lyn in her Ger._.. _proves to say that she keeps up with her habits even in places like Bulgar where you can hear the soft chatter of the people on the streets or the floor below._

 _When I had awoken, I had already found Lyn's bed to be empty as well as neatly folded. Heading downstairs, I found my companion already a good way through eating her breakfast._

 _It was a rather sad sight, to see her sitting alone with only her food and the window beside her to keep her company._

 _Not even the few flirts had dared to go near her. Perhaps it was just due to her heritage, or she just sent them off..._

 _I could only hope that it was the latter of the two, though I couldn't bring myself to ask her._

 _Despite that, the smile she had shown upon spotting me relieved me of all the anger that I felt for her. Waving me over, the two of us had a rather pleasant breakfast and small talk._

 _She could only giggle upon pointing out how disheveled I had looked, of which I hadn't noticed before though it wasn't something that I particularly minded._

 _There weren't any mirrors available so I couldn't really tell how bad my bedhead was, so I could only use the cup of water we had as my only reference._

 _Anyways, during breakfast, Lyn had proposed to me that we should_ _head towards a sacred altar that lies at the outskirts of Bulgar._

 _It apparently hosts a sacred sword that is said to grant their visitors the safety of wellbeing in their travels._

 _Seeing as she knew of it and keenly requested that we go, along with the fact that we didn't really have any other kind of destination in mind anyway, I accepted._

 _I couldn't really deny her when she would use those puppy eyes on me..._

 _Upon finishing any business in Bulgar and our equipment stocked, we had left the eastern gate to head to our destination._

 _And of course, we were attacked by bandits... or assassins?_

 _Well, apparently they were hired by a man named Lundgren who wanted Lyn dead..._

 _Also, he was apparently her grand uncle._

 _Small world, huh?_

 _Anyways, it appeared that the two knights from yesterday had followed us believing that Lyn was actually the Marquess of Caelin's grand-daughter._

 _Again, small world._

 _Well, given proof that they were our allies with good intentions, they had agreed to let me command them in combining our collective efforts to ward the assassins off._

 _Though strangely, I could see the slight hesitation in their eyes as they laid their gaze upon me._

 _It was a strange feeling indeed, perhaps they knew of who I was? Or rather I was someone that shared similar appearances to a friend of theirs..._

 _Of course, being an amnesiac, I don't have any answers to solve these queries, but perhaps in due time, I can figure out who I am._

 _There was always the consideration of my rather strangely hued hair... I never did see anyone else have blue hair like mine._

 _Maybe I can ask them this later tonight when we set up camp._ _They seem to be nice people after all._

 _Lyn had apologized to me earlier after the revelation that she would have to follow this path to save her grandfather, but I didn't really mind._

 _She seemed to be genuinely surprised that I had accepted to continue following her, which I found rather odd but perhaps it was just due to her not having too much experience in social cues as her reaction to Kent's supposed "flirting" would be evident of that, but I had kept that to myself... or rather this book I guess._

 _But again, I didn't really have anywhere else to go but follow._

 _Not that I minded, of course._

* * *

 ** _(Chrom)_**

Morning had arrived as the sun's dawning rays had cast its inviting light upon the flawless snowy banks of Ferox's seemingly endless hills and peaks of white. I had awoken in the comfort of my bed, enveloped with the warmth of a comfy blanket and mattress which had given me a rather comfortable sleep despite the headache that was last night. I could only let out a soft groan just thinking about it. My cheeks flushed red with embarrassment upon coming to remember the countless times I had spent in the bathroom before foolishly waltzing out there again, though the rest of the night was a blur; I didn't particularly want to remember what had transpired during my drunken trance.

Once again I am reminded of why I'm not particularly fond of massive celebrations and parties. Yet my role as a prince would demand for such things in the future as I can only hope that I would be able to grow out of my... um, habit to not make a fool of myself... though on the other hand, it does make a good excuse to "accidentally" punch a noble in their face when they get on my nerves.

I looked out the small opening that was perched high above on the wall beside me, granting me a natural source of light to effectively illuminate my plain but comfortable guest room. The small patch of blue in the skies had put a smile on my face, knowing that the snowstorm had passed. Of which would have allowed the shepherds a much easier journey back home to Ylisse than that of when we had come here.

Glancing around the room I was given for the day, a calm silence had taken its presence within the grey stone walls, though there were the small whispers that sounded from beneath the stone flooring. I could only assume that it was from the mess hall as many would say that breakfast was a time for chatter and heart, of which I couldn't really complain about. It was nice to be able to talk with my friends and allies within the shepherds, not to mention that there was the opportunity to meet others from different lands. At least, if they proved to be pleasant company.

Swinging my legs over the side of my bed to sit myself up, my feet felt a familiar rush of cold creeping up my bones, though I didn't particularly mind the sharp sensation too much. Many within the shepherds had described of my tolerance to drastic ranges of temperatures, of which I found odd but didn't question it too much as it was a rather trivial matter, I suppose I'm just not one to complain. Perhaps it's just because I don't wear a sleeve over my right arm that people think so...

Quickly finding a fresh set of clothes that were set on a nearby table, I let out a small sigh of relief upon finding that I was just clothed in my sleeveless shirt and boxers, assuming that Frederick had most likely taken it upon himself to undress me for bed and clean my clothes. Honestly, I owed the man so much in my life, he was a true friend and servant, as well as one of the best fighters I had known. The Halidom of Ylisse was lucky to have such a man work within our ranks. He was near tireless, seemingly never tired nor does he complain whenever I gave him a command or asked him a favour. Even if he took a few things too far, Lissa, Emmmeryn and I could only do so much to ease his workload, though he always insists that he must do his part.

It had come to the point where we had to settle on allowing him to pick up any pebbles in our way as the stopping point of where he would provide his services in the sense of sheer intensity. Perhaps to some, it may seem like slavery of some sort, or just showing off as a noble, but people that didn't know him weren't aware that he does so of his own free will, and even seems saddened or disappointed when we ask him to stop. He was loyal to a fault, yet his sense of duty and work ethic was something that everybody admired, though he took things too far sometimes... but he was a man that would always work for the sake of the protection of the Halidom as well as it's royals.

Smiling to myself, I had endeavored to quickly make myself presentable, tightening all the needed straps, pulled up my boots and clasped my cape around my neck. The golden pommel of Falchion's hilt gleamed in the small rays of light as I buckled it to my side, it's familiar and warm presence making myself feel whole. Nodding to myself upon seemingly finishing all that I needed to do for now, I made my way out the room's door, leaving a small tip for the caretakers of Ferox as a small gesture of appreciation. It was the least that we could do to repay Ferox for their support.

The soft creak of the wooden doorframe resounded the seemingly empty hallways of Ferox's halls. I peered out of the stone room to be met with silence.

Today would be the day that we would leave Ferox to discuss with Emmeryn about our next move in this impending war as we had already sent out a messenger carrier to the palace the night beforehand when we has agreed to stay the night here. Not only were we able to ally Ylisse with Ferox's support, but we were also able to strengthen our own forces with two rather interesting newcomers to the shepherds.

Lon'qu, the aspiring yet incredibly skilled swordsman who wields his blade with a swift and powerful grace. The man, while often quiet and preferred to merely spectate over the chatter of our allies, was a stoic, humble and determined man. His wish to master the sword was something that I had admired. He showed a great deal of promise during his fight against Vaike. He was cool headed and strong against Vaike's own brashness; it was especially a surprise when Basilio had recommended him to our group. There was little to hold me back from recruiting him as he would more than become a boon in this war, as well as strengthening the shepherds.

His fear of women however had mystified me, how a man would be so... scared? No, that probably wasn't right... nervous? -Yeah, that sounds more like it- was beyond me, but I didn't judge. There must have been something in his past that had resulted in such a fear, though that didn't bother me too much. There were things that everybody was afraid of, we wouldn't turn away someone who had a fear of something such as that.

Then there was Mark, our newest recruit. Robin had introduced me to the swordsman, or rather, tactician during the celebratory party that Khan Flavia had held during midnight, which was luckily before I took a few drinks by Vaike and Sully's insistence. - of which I remind myself why I don't listen to the two in instances such as these despite our kindled friendship since childhood-

The man was calm and quite polite, though I was glad that he shared many similar traits to Robin, at least in regards such as formalities as well as general calm. Despite having mentioned that he had travelled far from his homeland, he seemed to be familiar with the laws as well as regulations that Ferox, Plegia and Ylisse shared. It was refreshing to be able to meet someone who could keep their composure during some of the loudest moments the shepherds shared together. He was well behaved, though he was incredibly skilled. Much in the same regard as Lon'qu, not to mention that he also has a skilled proficiency in magic as well! He was definitely an interesting character, though he was still one that we were glad to have on our side.

Not only that, but he had mentioned that he had experienced his fair share of war that played in a similar fashion such as our own. Not to mention the strange circumstance that he was an amnesiac like Robin when he had awoken had amused me to no end. It surprised me that he had offered to be a simple warrior rather than the role of a tactician within the army, though perhaps that's due to knowing that Robin had already occupied the position beforehand, or perhaps he just simply wanted to be free from that burden; I couldn't tell, nor did I ask.

Robin seemed to enjoy his company, perhaps he would be able to draw her out from her withdrawn shell during the peaceful instances of our journey, I had always noticed her somewhere away from the rest of the group on many occasions, though she didn't seem to have trouble communicating with the others, she generally preferred to sit on the sidelines or be on her own, though it was within my efforts to at least make conversation with her or spar with her to keep her on her toes, perhaps she doesn't have to be alone now.

Continuing to travel down the calming quiet corridors, I was met with a few soldiers who had spared me a small greeting as well as nods with calming smiles. It made me glad that people didn't just seen me as only royalty but a man who had proven his worth in battle, it made me truly feel like I could be a part of the common folk as well which was something that I desired upon entering the world that not many others have the opportunity of doing so; though as a prince, I do have to be prepared if the situation arises that I am required to take the throne. I couldn't imagine taking over Emmeryn's place as Ylisse's ruler, she was incredibly kind and compassionate, not to mention she opposed my admittedly hot-headedness in situations that I would find myself making rash decisions if I were in her place.

I simply didn't feel capable of taking over her legacy, she was a ruler that saved Ylisse from the most trying times, especially after what had happened with our father, she took everything upon herself to rebuild our country into one of peace and prosperity. I wanted to help her, protect her from all that opposed her with greed and evil in mind.

Her weariness and suffering as a ruler could be apparent from the many times I had spent the time to simply chat with my sister, though she took it all with a smile. I could only do my best to try and relieve her of fighting as that was what I believed my role was meant to be, Lissa would also agree and work hard in our endeavours to support her as much as we could, knowing that she, out of all of us, was the one that was the most capable in ruling Ylisse. We loved her, she was the only family we had left after our parents had died; leaving us, but most of all Emmeryn alone to bear the burden of a fallen nation. She had done so much for us, and even if she denies it, we owe her more than we could ever repay.

A sigh escaped my lips as I stopped before a large wooden doorframe, the presence of its looming stature waking me from my thoughts as the muffled laughter and bickering between familiar voices sealed behind the door put a small smile on my face. Without any room for pause, I placed my gloved hand against the polished wood and pushed it open.

I am greeted with the warm and welcoming sight of my troops, many of which talked amongst themselves as they juggled between having breakfast and having idle conversations within the usual cliques of our group, primarily split into the tables of boys and girls. Upon noticing my presence with the rather loud creak of the doorframe giving away my presence, many shouted their greetings of good mornings towards me, while some others had come up to greet me personally and others had welcomed me with a simple nod and smile.

"Oh, Chrom! Good morning!"

I turned around to the sound of approaching footsteps behind me as well as the familiar voice that called out to greet me personally. The surprising but not unwelcome image of our newest recruit came into my vision as he greeted me with the same calm smile and serene turquoise blue eyes. His green cloak and scarf had fluttered behind him, creating ripples of light from the nearby open windows, he also appeared to have a few tomes within his grasp as he held them close to his chest. He seemed to be much more rested than yesterday, which was surprising considering how late the party had ended.

"Ah, Mark, good morning to you too." I had replied with a matching smile, after exchanging a small handshake.

"Are you alright, Chrom? You don't look too well rested, though I only ask of the small bags under your eyes." Mark inquired, placing his spare hand on his chin as leaned forward to inspect the rest of my face. I scratched my head sheepishly, letting out a small chuckle at his observation.

"Haha, perhaps the hangover after yesterday had not entirely let go of me yet... though I assure you, I am fine. Waking up had at least released me of the grasp of what became of last night; I am truly glad that it is over." Mark nodded, chuckling to himself at reminiscing what was most likely the display that I had put up in my drunken state, though he was kind enough not to tease.

"Well, if you say so." He replied.

"How about you? Did you sleep well?" I had asked him, curious in gesturing the few books he had held within his grasp. He had nodded in response with a hum of approval.

"I'd like to think so, though the tables in Ferox's library are oddly comfortable, not to mention it's quiet, so it was relatively easy to fall asleep there." He said, his eyes drifting off to the left as he scratched his cheek sheepishly. I simply stared at him for a moment, somewhat dumbfounded before letting out a hearty chuckle and patted his shoulder.

"Did you actually sleep there? Frankly, I'm surprised they let you stay there that long!" I commented, surprised. Mark simply shrugged, sharing my amusement with a small grin.

"Mm, well they didn't seem to mind too much, though perhaps I didn't notice them during my reading... I am told that I, well... get rather absorbed in reading, I am still a scholar after all." He drifted off in thought. I raised a curious eyebrow in response upon remembering my own experiences with the resident tactician of the shepherds.

"Is that so? Hmm, Robin acted in quite a similar fashion when we had introduced her to Ylisse's royal library. Trust me, she didn't want to leave, even when we had to set out on a mission to disband some local bandits." I said with a bright grin, causing Mark to chuckle in amusement.

"Haha, I know the feeling quite well. I remember when Lyn-" Mark immediately stopped upon mentioning that name, seemingly freezing up. I stared at him curiously, my head tilted to the side.

"Lyn? Is that a friend of yours?"

A moment had passed in silence, a blank look on his face as he seemed to be staring out a nearby window. I couldn't tell what it was, but there was something about this "Lyn" that had caused a reaction within Mark. I turned my attention to those around me as I found a few of the shepherds sending concerned glances my way, seemingly noticing Mark's distress after the rather elongated moment of idle and unresponsive movement. I myself was confused of the situation, though I was more than aware that it needed to be handled with caution.

Perhaps this could be an opportunity to learn more of the mysterious wanderer that had offered his services to our group, though it would be morally wrong to push him too far... He at least deserved the right to privacy if he so wished. He wished to lend his sword arm to us, risking his life in battle was something that he was more than aware of, especially the consequences of making such a decision, it would be wrong of me to take advantage of him just because I was curious.

"... Mark?" I said, gently shaking his shoulder in hopes of releasing him of his trance, of which fortunately worked as he blinked in confusion before shaking his head and turned it towards my direction.

"O-oh, um forgive me, I must have spaced out... what was it that you were asking me?" He said, stumbling over his words slightly, though he seemed to recover quickly as his expression returned to one of impassiveness, devoid of any strong emotion. I considered my word choice on what to say next, though it was obvious that the matter of this person that he was talking about needs to be clarified, or at least whether he wishes to speak of them or not.

"Um... I asked who this Lyn person was." I asked, scratching my cheek sheepishly in an attempt to show him that I don't mean to force him into anything. A leader should be able to understand what their troops feel about them, and while I may miss a few things at times, it was something that I wished to learn to better myself in, especially as the leader of a small military army and as Ylisse's prince.

His eyes seem to widen slightly in surprise, though his gaze quickly turned downcast and shy as the fringe of his turquoise and black hair had covered any trace of his eyes. He could only respond with a murmured, "Oh..." Mark seemed to think on it for a moment, his hands gripping the books with a light grasp, feeling around the edges to give him the desired comfort he wished for. I didn't want to rush him into saying anything, but the longer he waited, the more I grew concerned over the matter. I could tell that the man was smart, he could form responses that appeased nearly everybody in less than a second. From what I could tell of the shepherds, he had fit in rather well and was well-liked for his wise and astute responses to most situations... most, except for this one it seems.

"I'm... afraid I can't talk about her." The quiet response almost sounded like a whisper as his body stopped still like a statue, not wanting to look up at my eyes. It was strange, seeing a side to the man who had seemed to be confident in his abilities with a humble grace, his eyes had shown promise in bravery through what could only be countless trials and tribulations throughout his life. But to see him now, shy and vulnerable... it reminded me of when I met Robin that fateful day on the fields of Ylisse. I couldn't help myself feeling more curious, though from what I had gathered; the way he had said it, it didn't sound good.

"Why? Is she-" Mark quickly cut of my accusations, calling out my name to stop me.

"Chrom, please... let it drop."

He lifted his head up to meet my gaze. I stiffened as I was met with the strange phenomenon of his strange turquoise eyes were seemingly replaced by ruby ones, though I was perhaps worried of commenting on it if it distressed him further. His expression had a range of emotions painted onto them, from seriousness, sadness... fear. I let out a sigh, my posture relaxing as I could tell that having two stiff and tense conversation participants wouldn't get us anywhere.

"If that's what you want..." I said reluctantly, though the relief was obvious on Mark's face.

"Thank you."

We continued to make small talk about the journey ahead that would take us back to Ylisse, including our schedule for departure. I had made sure to announce to the rest of our party that we would stay for a little while longer to wrap up any loose ends they needed to while they were here.

This was a time of war, and people appreciated breaks every so often, no they needed breaks if they are to come out of it alive... though considering how close the clouds are loomin above us, the time for breaks would only lessen until the conflict is resolved, with the head of the Plegian king or not. Taking a moment to make a small evaluation of our current members within the mess hall, I had noticed that a familiar silver head of hair was absent from the room. I turned back towards Mark who had also seemed to notice the missing tactician from the mess hall, though he said nothing. He curiously looked at me with a neutral expression with a soft lipped line on his face, seemingly noticing that I had wished to speak with him further, and from what I could tell of the man, he was more than likely aware of what I wished to talk about next.

"Hey Mark, do you know where Robin is?" I asked him, to which he placed his free hand up to his chin in thought, his gaze turning to the clouds.

"Well, I'd suspect that she's still sleeping in her room. At least, that's my best guess. She wasn't in the library or the training grounds when I had gone there earlier, so I'm not too sure if she's anywhere else." He answered with a small shrug, though his calm gaze was still trained on me. I could only nod in response to his answer, acknowledging that it was the most likely possibility since he had eliminated any of the other likely suspect locations, though the mentioning of his travels to such a range of areas before he had even thought about having the first meal of his day surprised me.

"You visited the training grounds before breakfast?" I inquired, my hands crossed with casual interest, in a similar manner to that of a doting father while he simply smiled at me.

"I suppose I just had some free time." Mark answered truthfully. I raised my brow, not at him but rather myself. Had I been asleep for so long that he was able to make rounds around Ferox? Or perhaps he was just an early riser... then again, the alcohol that had entered my body last night would have probably affected by waking schedule as I typically considered myself to be a morning person as well. I too frequently visited the shepherds training ground back in Ylisse in the morning, usually to help wake me up and get ready for the day. I had to stay sharp on my swordsmanship after all.

"Hmm, I see... If it's not too much trouble, could you please wake her? I'd like to leave within two hours, I'd prefer to return back to Ylisse as soon as I can." The ruby-eyed man nodded in response with a light expression accompanied by a small bow, which had made me tense a little but I managed to keep it from being shown on my person. Perhaps it was just a habit of his.

"Sure thing, I'll be back."

I nodded in appreciation with a genuine bright smile.

"Thank you, I'm glad to have you with us, Mark."

He seemed to pause for a moment, his eyes shifting to a mysterious crimson red in a brief fleeting moment. My eyes widen in surprise, though as I blinked they appeared to be the same turquoise blue ones I had met and known since our meeting at midnight. Mark simply smiled back, though he tightly clutched the tomes within his hand firmly.

"It's my pleasure, Chrom."

* * *

 ** _(Mark)_**

Finding myself walking down the silent halls once more in the living chambers of Ferox's halls. I could only look around, admiring the architecture of the building as I could tell from a single glance that the walls were well built, which I suppose was unsurprising considering that this was a fort of sorts and a safe place made to handle rough competition in the art of battle. My own chambers were located elsewhere as this "side" of the building was made for the east-khan, which in this case was Khan-Flavia; I myself was enlisted under the west-khan, which was Khan-Basilio, though the aesthetics of the corridor was near identical, it was still pleasant to find myself immersed within a calming scenery. A place that provides the comfort of home...

Though the home that I came from... was much different, much colder...

I repressed a sigh but instead shuddered at the memory of my upbringing. I was surrounded with reminiscent smiles and laughter that made me join in as well, my family was one of affection and completion. The memory of them was something that I had held dear... though it's as they say, nothing lasts forever; things change. It was something that I had come to accept due to my lineage that spoke of evil. What remained of my family... well, I'm not sure. During the early stages of my travels to the continent of Plegia and Ferox, I had made sure to write to both my sister and brother, whom I had to part with on my quest of vengeance... though they didn't need to know that our separation was for such a foolish and selfish reason such as that... but I had a sneaking suspicion that they already knew.

As long as they were healthy, alive, and well... I was happy. They didn't need me anymore, they were adults. The three of us were in three different places, though I trusted that my sister would deliver my messages to my brother given that he was entrusted with a duty that he himself had volunteered to take upon himself. All three of us were in different places, living different lives... but as long as they were safe and happy, I was happy.

Travelling to wake my comrade and friend, it reminded me of when I had to wake them. Whether it was because we needed to flee from danger, or it was time for breakfast and I needed their help to buy supplies. I was the eldest in the family, it was my responsibility that I see to it that they are safe under my guidance, and that meant that I would be the one to fight if it became necessary. I would never even think of letting harm befell upon them. It was indeed truly a blessing that I was taught how to embrace combat as if it were second nature under the tutelage of my father. Back then, he was a strict but kind man. A man who would do anything for his children... though that all changed. It was because of me that we had chosen to run in the first place, though I knew that staying under my father's rule was something that would only lead to ruin as he was already lost to the dark abyss of madness that had eaten away at his soul since that moment. A moment that dictated our fate as those who have been shunned from those different from us.

I treasured those moments of peace, being greeted with the warm and kind smiles on both of their faces. Even occasionally being met with compliments of gratitude that I didn't feel that I deserved, but if it made them happy... I would do anything for them.

Soon enough, I found myself standing in front of what I believed to be Robin's room, it did have a small tag that had her name on it after all. I stared at it for a moment, taking in the calming silence met with the door that obstructed me from my task, yet it was a necessary thing. Having no reason to stop any longer, I raised my hand into a fist to knock a steady and calm rhythm. Making sure that it was not too loud to startle her, but not too soft for her to simply ignore it.

 _*knock, knock, knock_ ... but no-one answered. The sign of my presence appeared to have been rendered ignored or perhaps fell unto nothing; though I knew that not to be the case as my ears had picked up upon the soft hum of breathing hitching slightly upon my sudden knock. My expression contorted into one of confusion, though I had decided to call out to her, hoping that my voice would work instead.

"... Robin?" ... but no-one answered.

 _*knock, knock, knock_ ... Nothing.

I stood there for a moment's worth more as I contemplated my options. I was well aware that she was inside the room... or at least I know that there is at least someone inside there. Though considering the amount of time Chrom gave us to get ready for our departure had me worried that if she were still asleep then she might not be able to finish any duties that she may have left, not to mention that she needed to have a good breakfast before we left. Having no other reason to continue waiting around, I gently excused myself into the room with a small warning.

"... I'm coming in, pardon the intrusion."

The silent creaking of the door resounded the thick stone walls, the gap left by the door's absence revealed an illuminating ray of light into the dark room, if only a little. I couldn't exactly tell too much of what was inside apart from a few tomes lying about; it appeared that the window blinds weren't opened either. The tips of my ears twitched as the calm breathing continued to snore at an even pace, seemingly undisturbed by my mildly quiet entrance. It was hard to discern what was around me as I stepped into the dark room, though I quickly worked to find a nearby window blind in hopes of helping this complication which luckily, wasn't too difficult as I was able to discern a change in colour at the end of the room's walls from what little light the outside provided, which granted, wasn't very much. My own room had one of its own, which was luckily similarly constructed to that of Robin's room, or perhaps it was the same for every room here. But nevermind that, it at least gave me a good idea of where I should go.

Walking forward towards it, I grasped the rough fabric and gently pulled the curtains to the side for daylight to filter through the wooden frame. The window was one of a circular nature, it's circumference guarded by a wooden border. A gentle breeze sifted through the quarter gaps made from the intersecting beams of wood; it's cold chilly breath waking me from any persisting tiredness. Even if it wasn't necessarily big, it still provided a much better source of light than that of the dim lighting that the torches within the corridors provided. Blue skies laid prominent in the air, it's presence graced by drifting balloons of white and grey clouds.

Turning around from the window, I smiled upon finding the room enveloped in a much more lively yet calm colour. Scanning the room, I found a covered heap that lay upon the room's designated bed mattress. The bundle squirmed and shuffled slightly yet it didn't wake, walking closer revealed the familiar head of silver hair that I had been sent to look for. I could only chuckle upon watching the sleeping form of the shepherd's tactician snuggled in her bedsheets.

Crouching down next to her bed, I sought to gently wake her from her slumber, though something about the calm and peaceful expression that adorned her face had opted me to simply want to watch her, as creepy as it may sound. The way she squirmed and snore in her sleep was actually kind of cute, she was like a child whose innocence persisted in safety, I couldn't help but feel... protective of her, much like how I was with my brother, sister, and Lyn. I chuckled in amusement at myself for thinking such a thing, though my quiet laughter soon turned into a murmured melancholic sigh as I continued my watch over her.

Turning my attention towards her nightstand that sat beside the bed revealed a small stack of tomes. A small smile took over my face as the thought of me and Robin being so similar amused me to no end... though it only made me all the more willing to stay beside her to watch her growth, much like how I met Lyn. Though of course there would be a time where I would need to part from the shepherds, I wanted to at least ensure the army's victory, that was why I had joined in the first place, because I believed that they were the right cause to join... though perhaps it also served as a pitiful attempt of a substitute for the times that would never come back. In hopes of filling the empty hole in my heart since the war's end.

Deciding that I had spent enough time dawdling in my thoughts, I reached my hand out to shake her gently. After a second or two, I ceased my actions and released my soft grip from her shoulder as she seemed to stir from her slumber; she seemed to mutter something incomprehensible under her breath as she wriggled about cutely. I had to cover my mouth to stifle the laughter that would have for sure woken her up fully, though the mischevious side of me wanted to see how she would react to my sudden appearance upon her awakening.

As she turned to face me while continuing to lie down on her bed, her eyes fluttered open sleepily. The familiar ruby red eyes were glazed and unfocused, her eyelids heavy as she simply stared at me before she dragged a hand up to her face to rub her eyes, all the while letting out a large yawn.

"... Mark...?" I blinked in surprise as she called out to me, albeit in a hushed and drowsy voice. It only made me question how much sleep she actually had, though to be fair, the party did drag on past midnight. Acknowledging her guess, I smiled gently, remaining where I was.

"Hey there..." My voice cooed out to her softly.

"..." She blinked once again, her voice silenced. Yet her eyes seemed to slowly lose the spell of its sleepy trance upon her as the deep clear red of her irises sparked a light of recognition as well as realization, though it appeared that it took a moment longer for her to recognize what my presence in front of her, not to mention in her very room, meant.

"eh?" She let out a small sound of innocent confusion as she stared on before a massive blush of red painted across her cheeks. Quickly sitting herself up along with the covers around her slim build, wrapping the fabric protectively around herself as her face took on a bright red that contrasted the falling white hairs that fell on her face. "EEEH?!"

"M-m-Mark?! W-what are you doing here?!" She questioned with intense surprise, her tone suggesting a varied mix of emotion seeping into her voice, though the most prominent one was definitely that of embarrassment, though there was a hint of anger in her voice. It was extremely difficult keeping my laughter contained, though I knew that it would only serve to make her upset. I didn't want to do that, even if I found myself to be mischevious sometimes. Keeping a calm but kind expression on my face, I slowly stood up from where I was to turn my head towards the sunlight that illuminated the room.

"Chrom wanted me to wake you up, you're going to miss breakfast if you continue to sleep in..." I replied before turning my attention back to her. She seemed to jump a little, her face seemingly more flushed in embarrassment at the thought of nearly missing the appointed time of our leaving. Robin turned her gaze downcast to the white sheets as her disappointment with herself was obvious.

"R-really? Oh no..." She murmured worriedly as she stared into the white sheets before returning her ruby gaze towards me. "How long do we have until we leave?"

I placed a hand on my chin as I recalled the orders the blue haired prince had given me, "Hmm, Chrom said that we would be given two hours in case anyone had any more business to wrap up, though I suppose we can subtract around five minutes from that time since I walked here... probably more if we continue this conversation." I finished with a small nod in confirmation of my report. Robin nodded nervously as she swung her legs over the bed's edge. "Oh, um... okay..." She murmured, her head cast downwards. I titled my head towards her in slight confusion concerning her downcast behaviour. It wasn't particularly unnatural to feel such a way upon waking up, I myself had such experiences though they were due to more... difficult circumstances. It appeared that Robin had noticed my worry as she offered me a bittersweet smile in an attempt to ease my worry.

"I'm sorry... I was just wondering... but have you eaten already?" She asked. My eyes widened in surprise, though my expression softened as her sincere words of worry came to warm my chest, filling me with an unexpected hint of happiness at her concern. It wasn't particularly a surprise, but being reminded of her soft caring nature never failed to lighten my mood. Not to say I was in any sort of downcast state to begin with, but it did remind me of that of both my brother and sister... I came to appreciate people like her; kind at heart, even in face of war. Even if we weren't particularly close, people like her were the ones whom I would fight for. I shook my head in response to her innocent question, though my smile conveyed my appreciation for her care.

"No, I just came back from the library and met up with Chrom when we bumped into each other at the mess hall's entrance," I explained, though her frown seemed to deepen slightly as she nodded numbly. Her gaze averted from mine to the cobblestone wall as she huddled her arms close to her chest.

"O-oh... I'm sorry." She apologized once again, her fingernails interestingly digging into her covers. I frowned upon seeing this but ultimately let it go for now as I let out a soft sigh, though my expression held no trace of annoyance or malice.

"...It can't be helped. C'mon, I'll wait for you outside."

It took a moment for her to answer, but she soon regained her determined spirit as she nodded confidently.

"Okay."

I simply stood by watching her like a guardian or parent of sorts as she quickly got on her feet to start making due of her morning. Taking the white sheets off her body revealed her set of cream top and pants, though it also revealed her bandaged form from underneath her top. I was unable to do anything but stare at them, even noticing that there was somehow a lingering scar that snaked out from under the bandage on her arm. My ruby red eyes only showed concern upon seeing this as I couldn't help but bite my lower lip a little. "I didn't go too deep... right?... No, the wounds should have been shallow and easy to heal... but they were already there yesterday..." I muttered to myself, though it appeared that Robin had taken notice to my staring. Her face blushed as she was unable to say anything at that moment but quickly shook her head to snap out of whatever ran in her mind before calling out to me.

"Um... is something wrong Mark?" She asked, fortunately seeming to not have understood my mumbles. I simply shook my head, not wanting to worry her and apologized.

"It's nothing. I apologize for staring, Robin." I said, deciding to divide my focus elsewhere for now but I knew that this was something we had to discuss at a later date. Robin nodded in understanding as she giggled lightly, which had made me feel slightly embarrassed at my crude behaviour.

"Don't worry, I space out sometimes as well." The shepherd's tactician assured kindly, causing me to stare at her for a moment before settling into a small chuckle and smile before nodding in approval of her statement.

Robin soon returned to getting prepared for the morning. Seeing her quickly make work of setting the bed back neatly, I nodded satisfied seeing as she was more than capable of finishing the rest on her own without any assistance whatsoever. Even if her movements were a bit stiff, it was understandable that she would feel that way after getting treated and sleeping for a good while. Though it was definitely a most acceptable trade for the wonder's a stave can do. Having no other reason to stay, along with the soft grumble of my stomach demanding that I consume something very soon, I briskly turned around and started proceeding to walk towards the doorframe, curiously daydreaming and trying to remember what was available at the mess hall while I was still there with Chrom. Though to my stomach's dismay but to my own interest, I was stopped quickly after as I felt a soft tug on my arm. Turning my head around curiously, I found the sight of Robin quickly and timidly withdrawing her arm from mine as she smiled bashfully.

"Um... would you mind waiting for me? I'd prefer if I had company while I walked to the mess hall..." She asked hopefully as she fidgeted with her fingers. I stared at her for a moment before chuckling in response causing her to pout a little, but I patted her head, reminiscent of the times where I would do the same for my younder siblings, offering a reassuring smile.

"That's fine with me, I always do enjoy extra company," I said, ignoring the protests my stomach gave me. Robin smiled and nodded, seemingly satisfied with herself before she started working on making herself presentable. Making her way over to the small washroom facility that sat in the corner of the room, the silver-haired tactician quickly washed away any lingering tiredness with a healthy splash of cold water on her face before quickly drying it off with a contented sigh. She then quickly made her way back to the chest that stored all of the clothes she had.

Briskly walking and sitting comfortably on her bed with a soft flop, Robin proceeded to do all of her belts and straps that held her clothes together. She pulled her boots over her feet causing her beige coloured pants to fold and crumple slightly upon being pulled up by the leather, but it was at least comfortable for her from what I could tell as she didn't show any visible signs of discomfort. Last but not least was her signature rich and deep purple coat that miraculously survived the events of last night without even having any noticeable stains from what he could tell. I could see the bright smile she had on her face as she snaked her arms through the coat's sleeve, contented with how it comfortably wrapped around her body, covering any sight of the bandages she wore underneath.

She moved to join me near the doorframe after she took a brief look at herself, turning her body around and lifting her arms and her head to make a full assessment of her state, of which turned out to be positive by the small hum of approval she made. Stopping right before me, she quickly turned her head back, taking a last scan of the room. It still had a few of her possessions lying around the room such as some of her tomes, both magical and ordinary, along with her weapons and simple everyday items. Since she was only going out to have breakfast as well as considering the time we still had left until our departure to Ylissitol, she didn't have to mind too much of packing everything so early, though it was a good habit to be prepared and finish everything quickly when she had the chance.

Turning her attention back towards me, her face beamed as she stood right by my side.

"Well, I'm good to go." I nodded in response as I reached out to open the door. The two of us found our way standing outside Robin's room as she quickly wrung out a key from her coat pocket and proceeded to lock the door as a measure of security, not wanting to let any of her possessions get stolen by some random passerby. I waited patiently as she did so, taking a moment to look at my surroundings once more. There didn't appear to be anyone in the hall at the current moment, not to mention that the bustling noise that came from a level below has significantly lessened to that of faint echoes.

With a click, Robin turned back around to face me. A soft smile on her face.

"Shall we-" The silver-haired tactician paused as a low growl could be heard from my stomach. My cheeks flushed a rosy red as I visibly cringed from the embarrassment I felt. Robin's ruby red eyes widened as she stared at me incredulously, causing even more embarrassment on my end. I parted my lips to apologize, though it appeared that Robin was the first to break into a fit of laughter. I could only stand there dumbfounded as Robin pants and wheezes with flushed cheeks had only served to make me cringe further at the simple misfortune of my own hunger. Perhaps it may be considered funny, though she really was laughing too hard. So hard that she had to actually hold onto her stomach and cup her mouth in vain to try and stop her giggling fit.

"Ahaha, I'm s-so... sorry..." She panted, catching her breath and regaining her composure. Wiping a tear from her eyes, she placed a fit to her mouth to suppress another bout of giggles. "It s-seems I've held you up long enough. You probably could have had some food if you didn't have to wake me up." Robin shyly admitted with a good-natured smile, clasping her hands together to rest over her stomach with her gloved fingers fiddling absentmindedly. I let out a small sigh and rubbed my face to wipe off my expression of discomfort, I turned around with a stoic expression in hopes of forgetting my little mishap. Tugging at my hood to hide my face as a force of habit at my fluster before coughing into my hand.

"Look, it's alright, I don't mind waiting... besides, I'm sorry for entering your room without permission. I didn't mean to cause you any alarm."

Robin flinched slightly at my comment, though I could hear her shuffle uncomfortably behind me. Footsteps had rounded from beside me until I found Robin meeting my gaze from in front of where I stood, a shaky smile on her face.

"I-it's alright... but, thank you anyways... f-for waking me up, I mean." She said, bowing a little bit.

I merely cocked my head to the side in confusion to her unusual rigid and formal demeanour, though I just brushed it off to the side assuming that she was probably aware of the effects of her teasing. Nodding, I stared at the crown of her silver-haired head. Though soon after, I was once again met with the familiar ruby red gaze I had been so used to seeing these past few days.

"It's not a problem, we're going to be comrades from now on. The least we should do is look out for each other, right?" I offered kindly with a soft, closed-eyed smile. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, though she didn't hesitate to put on an expression of determination over her features.

"Right." She affirmed, holding up clenched fists up to her chest. A bright smile on her face, though she seemed to be excited by the prospect of our camaraderie. I couldn't exactly blame her, it always did feel nice to be needed. It was quite like when I had been able to get on good terms with Kent, while Sain was already naturally trusting. The red-armored knight was already slightly suspicious of my own story when the two knights had joined both mine, as well as Lyn's company, though that he had confessed that it was simply due to his duties of being a knight that he must ensure that he do his best to protect whom he was ordered to protect. I would imagine that Frederick would have acted in a much similar fashion if what happened in her story was true. And while the wary knight seemed a little off edge at the mere sight of the two having a simple discussion with others, I could only assume that he has slowly gotten more used to Robin's presence.

As the two of us were about to proceed to finally get some long-awaited food in our stomachs, another growl had made its voice clear between the two of us... though strangely, it wasn't from me. Raising my brow, I turned my head to find Robin wide-eyed and cheeks heavily flushed. Taking a moment to register her reaction, a sly grin took over my face as I chuckled to myself deviously. "Oh? It looks like someone's hungry for food as well~" I teased, causing Robin to look at me incredulously with a look that conveyed betrayal. Now she understood my pain.

"O-oh, stop it!" She stuttered angrily, lightly punching my arm before crossing her own over her chest and turned away with a pout. I just chuckled and walked in front of her, much like in the same manner as she did for me. I smiled, seeing her pouting facade fade to be replaced with that familiar smile.

"Want to go see what we'll have for breakfast?" I asked her, to which she nodded, the atmosphere returning to it's jovial and calming nature.

"Yeah!"

* * *

Ylisstol was much more lively than I had first imagined. The streets were bustling with laughter and lively chatter, children running around with each other and smiling adults strolling around the market. It was a fresh change in pace watching how these people conversed with each other, a few of them joked around while others simply talked about their day. There was little argument and discord amongst the people, it was quite the change from the many large cities and kingdoms back in Elibe.

Men of Noble lineage talked only about their riches while the poor had to resort to sneaking off with items sold in the market behind the store owners' backs. People worked hard for little pay, all because their bloated and pridefully mad king could really care less about his people. But here, there was no need for such acts, it was indeed impressive that the Exalt was able to bring a country plagued with ruin by their father's war to become bright and fruitful with an abundant harvest. It was much different than when I had first visited Plegia, the "home" of where the fell dragon slumbered for years. It was much quieter and tense than the atmosphere Ylisstol was surrounded by, not to mention that most of the citizens had regarded each other with an untrusting and suspicious gaze. Their trust only bought by riches of gold and wealth to survive in the barren wasteland.

It only makes me grow more concerned with the impact this war would have on the people that would have to sacrifice their lives for the sake of victory and peace.

My excitement was evident by the glowing aura I exuded as I scanned the place eagerly. Seeing new places had always excited me, not to mention I was indeed quite curious of the many attractions that this place had to offer, not to mention that the land itself had a rich history that I could well spend hours in the library reading about it. I could only wonder if I would be able to have the privilege to read into the royal archive if I were to ask Prince Chrom or maybe Exalt Emmeryn. I had heard that she was a kind and peaceful ruler, and with how the two siblings had beamed every time the topic would fall upon their eldest sister, I could tell that she was something truly special.

The shepherds' presence was welcomed with open arms amongst the citizens that walked through the clean streets of Ylisse. Many had personally come to say hi and thank the group for what they had done for them, some even offered some items to us, though we thankfully declined. It was awfully nice for them to do such things, but I believed that having their thanks was more than enough, and I was glad that Chrom thought the same. Many of our group had met the people's presence with smiles on their faces as well as a few waves, I myself had decided to remain hidden amongst the rest of the group, hopefully avoiding any lengthy confrontations with my presence despite the large green cloak I wore over my person, though it was at least hidden well by Stahl's own green armor.

I wasn't particularly fond of extremely large crowds, though the army was an exception. I would prefer to simply just watch people smile and laugh, rather than join in myself... though I wouldn't deny the fact that when the chance did come by, it was spent in good remembrance.

Chrom had stepped up beside me to chat for a little while, obviously noticing my awe in wonder of the city's sights. Even Lissa did the same to tease me lightly about how cute of a child I looked. I could only laugh, ignoring the potential insult as I delved into the prospect of the feeling of wonder I would get from travelling the world. The two did seem interested by my words, not to mention the descriptions of the sights I had the fortune of seeing on my way here did pique their interest.

The two had explained that they have yet to travel anywhere as far as Valm, while Plegia was pretty much a given that they wouldn't dare venture into that land. It was common knowledge that the people of Plegia was rather jealous of the land that Ylisse had become after the war's end. Not to mention that Chrom and Lissa's father was the one who instigated the war on Plegia. The two siblings had also informed me of some other mystical natural landmarks I have had yet to discovered in the different parts of Ylisse.

Of course, we were headed to the capital of Ylisstol, the castle of which the line of exalts would come to preside as the land's rulers in power by Naga's blessing. The castle itself was perched on the tall hill that was located in the center of the capital. It's stature, despite being realistically imposing and large, had a rather welcoming and grand nature to it. It was inviting to those who had the fortune of taking a look at it. I could without a doubt, say that it was quite bigger than Castle Caelin.

In fact, it was most likely bigger than both Ostia and Bern's own castles, though Bern was the closest contender in scale. It was reasonable, considering that the continent of Archanea in it's current state was much less divided than Elibe was, not to mention that comparing the two entire continents would result in Archanea being a bit bigger in scale. Ylisse was one of the most prominent rulers of the continent itself, contended by that of Plegia, Valm and Regna Ferox being the other most notable nations of power.

Passing through the market and kind townsfolk, the group had ascended the long road ahead to reach the palace. I could even spot some merchants saddling donkeys and steeds. Some had set up shop on the sides of the roads. These merchants in particular seem to have different types of wares than that of the common groceries and fabrics, along with most other items of the norm. Rather, these stands seem to have a more... unique style in item ware. Selling weapons and armor for varied prices. I could see a few interesting weapons on display, though I already did have my own set of gear that I didn't believe needed and upgrade soon. Though despite the many random faces who had set up shop, I could make out one particular red head amongst the crowd. Her ruby head of hair, matched with a similarly colored set of eyes scanned the crowd eagerly in hopes of drawing in a new customer.

That was when her eyes laid upon me. I could already feel the cheerful and exuberant aura that pretty much every Anna I had met had exuded. She raised her brow at me curiously though she maintained her smile. Perhaps she was an Anna I had met before? Or perhaps she was close with someone who knew of me. Anyways, without wanting to seem rude, I smiled and waved to her. It was always nice to see her laugh lightly in response before waving back. Maybe I would head over there once our visit to meet Emmeryn was over, the family of merchant girls were always an interesting bunch to talk to... though they are also quite skilled informants and information hubs due to how much travel they had experienced moving from place to place every few days or so, at least, for the right price.

But that could wait for now, what's important is the fact that we should discuss our next plans at this stage of the war. While I may not be the head tactician of the army, I was indeed curious about how the table of nobles in Ylisse had discussed their plan of action. Not even Robin has had enough time here to be present for one as she had mentioned that the shepherds had immediately left for Ferox the day after her first stay here. Then again, I was just a commoner to those people. After I had given up the title of Marquess to Kent after Lyn's passing and Lord Hausen's retirement, I was just a wandering warrior that just so happened to be recruited into the shepherds my Robin and Chrom's admission. Though with that said, perhaps I could ask the prince if I would be able to join one of the little sessions. He always did mention that he would find the council meetings extremely boring and irritating when he was absolutely needed.

Upon closer inspection of the massive palace, I could only widen my eyes in surprise at the sheer scale of it. It was indeed much taller than that of Ostia and Bern's castles as I had imagined, though to think it would be of this great a magnitude. A soft giggle could be heard from beside me as I turned to find Robin looking up at me. The silver haired tactician smiled before returning her gaze back to the looming castle of fine stone. "I had the same reaction when I first came here as well." She said, seemingly still in awe of the magnificence of the sight. The linings of gold, the pillars of marble, it was quite the work of art. I nodded in agreeance, folding my arms before placing a hand on my chin as my eyes darted around the fine details of the castle. "I could look at this for hours, it's quite the sight. Nothing like back at home..." I muttered under my breath. Robin nodded in turn.

"Yeah, this place is pretty big! Gets confusing going inside though, luckily we don't really need to be in there much since we have the shepherds garrison nearby and away from that beast of a place." The crimson haired knight Sully had commented, striding her horse beside us as the group continued to walk towards the entrance of the palace. I raised my brow curiously. I had forgotten about sleeping arrangements since my joining, though at least none of the shepherds seemed to complain.

"Is that so? Will that be where we stay during the night?" I had asked, to which Stahl had replied with an affirmative, riding up on the opposite end.

"That's right. Inside the garrison, we have a pretty spacey barrack. It's where the shepherds usually turn in for the night. Not to mention the garrison has been equipped with training grounds as well as stables, not to mention storage for all our weapons as well. Each of us is assigned a room, and it's pretty comfy! Though we have our breakfast in the mess hall of the royal palace due to Chrom's insistence." The green knight paused for a moment, his mind likely wandering off at the thought of food. "Haha, not that I'm complaining though..." He laughed, though his expression returned to a more normal jovial and kind one as he patted his steed's head. "We owe the guy a lot, he's done so much for us." Stahl drifted off, a pleasant smile on his face. Sully snorted and punched his shoulder with a noticeable clank due to the armor the two were wearing.

"Hey, you don't have to kiss ass to much, you know." She joked, the crimson knight turned her attention back towards the blue haired prince who was currently talking with Frederick and Lissa at his side. "Though it's true, he's a pretty great guy! He's a real tough customer in spars, but it's still an honor to fight beside him." Sully laughed proudly, a huge grin on her face. I could only smile back, it was nice to see the similarities that Chrom had shared with that of my previous employers, and friends. It only made me glad that I knew that I picked the right side to fight for.

"Hey guyyys! What are you doing standing around?" A loud chipper voice cut through our small talk as our attention was brought to a familiar blonde pig-tailed cleric. Lissa jumped up and down, waving in an eccentric yet excited manner. Sparing a final glance at each other, the four of us had agreed on a nod before we jogged -and by that I mean me and Robin, Stahl and Sully had horses... so they galloped?- over to the lively cleric along with Chrom, Frederick and Lon'qu standing beside her. Though saying that, the brunette myrmidon was actually at least a few feet away from the blonde princess, luckily having her brother and the stalwart knight standing in between them.

Chrom gave us a smile as he placed a hand on his hip. "We're going in to see Emm. Stahl, Sully, you two will be going with Lissa back to the Shepherd's garrison. Robin, Mark, Lon'qu and Frederick will be coming in with me inside." He said, the other three nodding in agreeance and said their goodbyes for now, parting ways to what I could only assume to be where the garrison would be. Returning my gaze back to Chrom, I raised an eyebrow curiously at the mention of a visit to the Exalt herself, though it appeared that the blue haired prince had noticed my look and turned to me. "Emm says that she wants to meet our new recruits from out trip to Ferox. She always says that it's good to start yourself on the right foot, not to mention that she's quite curious to meet you both." He says, smiling. I smiled as well, taking note of at least meeting the soldiers who would be fighting to protect her brother's life had put Emmeryn in my good books, not that she wasn't already.

"Sounds like a plan." I say, causing Lon'qu to grunt in agreeance with a small smile before stepping to my side. Robin nodded as well on the opposite end of me as we returned out gaze back to the blue haired prince as well as Frederick standing in front of the grand castle doors.

"Well then, follow me."

* * *

 ** _(Emmeryn)_**

It was a rather slow day today. Most of my hours of sunlight was spent by signing papers, though I didn't particularly mind the easy, if not quite extensively long task. As long as my people were at peace, I was fine with doing whatever was needed for the nation that was handed down to me. Light dawned through a circular window placed high above the wall that was at my back, casting down rays of sunlight in the center of my office. My work was undisturbed, the sweet melody of the birds singing their songs outside my window. The space around me was quiet and away from the indistinct chatter that lay below where I sat.

I sighed as my quill had ran it's last drop of ink. Deciding that a small break wouldn't hurt too much, I placed the immaculate white feather to the side of some documents that I have yet to finish signing. Most of the forms that have been handed to me were mostly about business dealings as well as some forms to be approved for some construction projects, most of which I was quite curious to read about. Of course, I would have come to ask for advice by some of the trusted advisors my father had left me since his death. Most of which were kind and approving of my work ethic, while others acted indifferently but did their job all the same.

With a warm cup of tea at my hand, I hummed in delight as the blossoming taste of the fine liquid had warmed by throat. I always preferred my tea without sugar, and while Lissa may have objected to a beverage that was as bitter as the one I had come to enjoy, I had simply grown accustomed to the taste. At first, I just knew that the beverage was one that many highly regarded nobles had enjoyed greatly by the many parties that would come to pass. There was also wine, though I wasn't too keen on becoming intoxicated. It was much different than my experiences with fine tea, in fact my healers had told me that I had passed out after doing some rather... interesting things after a drink or two. Not to mention that the feeling of these supposed "hangovers" were not a fun experience to go through, so I just stuck with tea in the meantime.

Despite the initial bitterness of the taste that came with natural tea, it was known that the drink had some properties that made to help keep my mind clear and devoid of stress. Even if I was called "the woman who would never raise a hand against others and had the patience of a saint" there were moments of frustrations in my work, though I endeavored to keep all of my own troubles within. The only one I would entrust my problems to was Phila. She was a true friend that stuck by me through thick and thin, even as we grew up together, she never resented me for the actions of my father as my own people had done at the time.

It was all I could ask for in trying times such as those.

I would smile, watching the steam of the brownish black liquid rise into the rays of light, sparkling with an array of colors that never failed to make me smile. Retaining my posture, I sat in my chair, cup and saucer in my hand as I let myself enjoy another taste of my favourite beverage and sink into the comfort of my cushioned chair, letting my worries slip away for just a moment. Despite the brief moment of rest, work would always come back anyways. A soft knock had resonated around the entire room.

"You Grace, may I come in?" I could immediately recognize the voice belonging to that of my most trusted advisor, Phila. I tilted my head to the side curiously, wondering what it might be that she would want to personally discuss with me. Whatever topics came to my mind, I quickly brushed them off to the side, knowing that the longer I would think on it, the longer I would keep my friend waiting. With a smile, I nodded and spoke loud enough for her to hear my voice.

"Of course, you may enter." With a short affirmative, a soft click could be heard from the wooden frame.

As the door opened, I saw the familiar slender frame that belonged to the head of the Pegasus Knights on the other side of the frame. The woman's golden plated armor shone in the basking sunlight, though her piercing mahogany red eyes retained their formal and respectful gaze. Stepping up to my desk, she bowed in a proper manner to greet me, but I had dismissed the action of courtesy and asked for her to raise her head. Reluctantly, she agreed but did so without any complaint. Before, she would have insisted that it was the proper thing to do, though I would always argue that we were friends, so we did not have any need for formal acts between us. Though she was extremely stubborn, and would only have complied when I showed some annoyance to her actions. Even through all these years, she has yet to drop that habit, though I was glad that she has grown more used to our dynamic.

"What is it, Phila?" I asked calmly. The silver blue haired Pegasus Knight nodded in response and straightened her posture, more so than ever thought possible.

"Your Grace, Lord Chrom and his shepherds have arrived and are waiting to meet with you." She reported with a stoic demeanor. I nodded in response, it has been a few days since Chrom and his group of shepherds' departure to the cold land that Ferox settled on. I was relieved to hear of our newfound co-operation between our two nations as Chrom had written in the message he had sent me since about two days ago. I was glad that my brother had the foresight to send a message before he left, which allowed for the committee to discuss some new choices which have appeared in the horizon. Of course, we would wait for Chrom as well as his new tactician, who he, as well as I see promise in, to arrive to settle on a final agreement.

"I understand, will you walk with me there? I'd prefer some company." I asked her, which was immediately met with an affirmative nod.

"Of course." She replied with a small smile. Smiling in return, I quickly finished my already near empty cup of tea and moved to join her after setting all of the other documents that sat on my desk aside. With a polite bow, the two of us proceeded to walk our way through the halls of the castle with hopes of quickly reaching the entrance of the palace.

The walk was quiet, though I was able to have Phila open up about her day. She had commented that it was uneventful, the only thing of note that she had mentioned was the rate of improvement some of the Pegasus Knight trainees had been undergoing, and that their training has been progressing nicely. I could only smile at that, though it also saddened me that both new and old recruits would need to risk their life in the land of battle very soon, especially considering how the Mad King keeps making unrelenting attempts at provoking me into instigating war.

The man would keep insinuating that our own soldiers would attack the citizens of his country, though most of his lies were proven to be just that, lies. Lies proven by the lack of any sufficient evidence, as well as the fact that he himself had claimed no responsibility to the increasing Plegian bandit problem that would try to pillage any nearby towns or villages that sat near the border. I could only try and send Chrom and his shepherds, along with some of the Pegasus Knights to deal with any problems the villagers would have. It couldn't be helped, but I would most likely have to tighten security around the border.

These were peaceful times, but I was willing to do my best to ensure that this peace lasts. I could only do whatever I could to remain calm and composed in the face of Gangrel's baseless attempts at starting a war of bloodshed. I wasn't about to repeat the same mistake father had committed.

Soft and idle chatter could be heard in the distance. I took in a silent breath to retain my calm. Phila stood beside me and nodded, confirming that we had indeed reached the grounds of which we would meet my younger brother. Without any further delay, I walked out into the open room with Phila by my side. I had noticed five people already standing in the center light of the room in total. Three of which I was already familiar with, the other two, I was not. Though I raised my brows in surprise upon seeing the green cloaked man who stood beside Chrom turn to look at me. His soft yet fierce red eyes meeting my gaze from beneath his hood. He gave me a gentle smile, and I returned the favor with one of my own. Chrom seemed to notice his companion's change in attention as he too turned to face me, a bright smile of surprise pleasantly blooming on his face. Beside him, Frederick bowed gracefully and respectfully while the other three followed suit.

I laughed quietly to myself as I lifted my hand up peacefully to have them raise their heads. Together, Phila and I strode towards the small group with small greetings. "Chrom, it's good to see you." I said to Chrom, who nodded with a bright goofy grin that I always enjoyed watching. "Same here, Emm." He said, chuckling to himself. I nodded towards him with a smile before turning my attention back towards Frederick and Robin. "It's good to see you as well, Sir Frederick, Lady Robin." I greeted them, of which earned me a greeting from the two as well. Frederick had responded in his usual stoic manner, though Robin appeared a bit flustered at the title, fumbling around cutely which I internally giggled at.

Finally, I turned my attention towards the two new faces. One was a tall warrior with a pale complexion, short brown hair and sharp obsidian eyes. His face was lean and tight, yet his gaze remained stoic. Strangely enough, the man seemed to be on edge. It was easy to tell from his rigid nod, even more so from how he backed away to stand beside the other slightly shorter swordsman beside him. I could only raise my brow curiously at his eccentricity as I turned to face Chrom who had noticed my confusion. "Lon'qu is afraid of women." He said bluntly, causing the myrmidon to grunt and fold his arms, his eyes closed in slight annoyance of Chrom's blunt nature. I giggled to myself, placing a polite hand to cover my mouth. Chrom seemed to smile as well, walking over to the man and patting his back reassuringly.

Opening my eyes once more, I turned towards the cloaked man with a curious expression. His complexion was similar to that of Lon'qu's, though his face was a little bit more rounder than that of the uptight Myrmidon. Strands of cyan hair had hung at around mid length, though there was a banded lock of hair that framed the right side of his face. His ruby red eyes that had peered through the few gaps of his bangs had stared at me curiously, though his kind smile persisted. "It's nice to meet you, your Grace." He bowed slightly before standing upright. "My name is Mark."

I looked at him with an expression that conveyed mild surprise, though I quickly hid it under one of a calm demeanor. "It's very nice to meet you too, Sir Mark."

Once we got past the introductions, we had started discussing the negotiation plans with Ferox. The alliance between the two nations would result in more than just added numbers to our side of the war, but it would also open up some more direct routes of marketing and travel. The two nations were already on good terms, though in signing a treaty of allegiance we would be able to gain more benefits to both countries. This was especially good since Ferox was starting to experience the effect of the winter storm, of which had resulted in some losses of crop land due to the large influx of snow piling up around villages.

Ylisse was already a prospering nation of peace, of course it would never hurt to lend a hand to those who need it. It was only one step towards building a lasting piece, but it was a necessary one.

"...Then Regna Ferox will support Ylisse? Thank you, Chrom. I knew sending you was the right choice." I said with an expression of relief. I was more than aware myself that the diplomatic structure of Ferox was more on the lines of proving your strength in battle. It was an obvious choice that Chrom would be more better suited to combat than I. Besides, he is the only one in our family that can actually wield Falchion. Of course, I myself was not suited to combat in the slightest, though I did have some experience with tomes should that prove useful for self defense... though I would hope that such a time would never come to pass. Violence was something that I wanted to avoid, though I knew that in a world torn by land and rulers, fighting was inevitable... but that didn't stop me, it never did.

I had sworn to myself that day. The day I was given a bloody throne as the inheritance from my own father.

Chrom placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest in a prideful manner.

"You should see Ferox's warriors! Perhaps now our people will be safe from the terror of the Mad King." He said, looking towards Lon'qu, who had slowly been drawing closer into the conversation, though he had yet to speak. Robin sighed, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"Even so, the bandit problem near the borders of Plegia and Ylisse will still prove to be a problem that won't be so easily fixed, even with the added support." She mulled in thought, placing her hand on her cheek as her gaze was turned to the floor. Mark had nodded in agreeance, standing beside the silver haired tactician.

"Robin's right. If it is true that Gangrel himself is allowing these bandits passage through the borders by turning a blind eye to an illegal route, then it is unlikely that we can completely eliminate this problem. Of course, the bandits are still at a stage of which they can be easily dispatched, but we should still be wary if they try to take hostages." The green cloaked man sighed a weary sigh as he rubbed the bridge between his brows in annoyance. "I had already heard of some illegal trafficking of people, not to mention a hard to track slave system operated by a cult called the Grimleal."

The others didn't see it, but I had noticed that Robin had quickly moved to clasp the top of her right hand, as if it were on reflex of some kind. I looked up from her hand to her face. I could see small traces of tension and worry, though I remained silent for now. I didn't wish to cause her any trouble, though it was most likely a topic that I would need to bring up sometime; at least, privately.

"Gods, what are going through these people's minds..." Chrom cringed visibly, his face scrunched as he masked his face with his hand. The words muttered under his breath as Frederick could only nod in agreeance of his lord's statement.

"I must agree, what those people are doing is nothing good. It is unfortunate that such a business goes on, but it is even more so that we are unable to root out the problem without as much as a clue to lead us to them." The wary knight comments, to which Mark drops his arms to his side, sending the tall knight a worried glance.

"I'm afraid that's primarily due to the Grimleal originating and continue to operate from within Plegia, so it is unlikely that Gangrel would even allow us passage. The cult was even said to be that of the Fell dragon's followers. From what I could tell from visiting that place, it was most certainly true that they considered the Fell Dragon to be a deity that would save them." The cyan haired man supplied with a downcast expression as he too started fiddling with his fingers in the same manner that Robin did. I actually found it slightly amusing that the two shared similar traits, though I was more than aware of why. Frederick's near impeccable stoic expression scrunched slightly at the revelation, though he kept his posture steadfast and unwavering.

"I see, then it would indeed be difficult to track them to the source." Frederick acknowledged grimly. I could only nod in agreeance, my lips pursed in a frown that the ugly truth. It truly was difficult hearing of such things happening outside the borders of Ylisse. Along with the barrier of being unable to do anything about it had also left a bad taste in my mouth due to the lands of Plegia being out of my reach, not to mention that ordering activity in Gangrel's land would be considered treason and a reason for him to start another war. Mark sighed wearily, crossing his arms.

"I'd imagine that the Grimleal would hold high power over others in Plegia if no one would dare to intervene, though there would be many reasons for such. While Gangrel doesn't seem to follow the same ideology as them, he still turns a blind eye to their actions, or perhaps he simply doesn't care." He mused, casting a sideways glance towards Chrom, who nodded with a bitter yet angry expression.

"If only we had a way to settle this quicker..." He muttered under his breath, though I simply shook my head.

"I understand how you feel, Chrom. We all do... but violence isn't the answer for peace. As much as I don't like saying it, it takes time for the wounds inflicted by hatred to heal."

The blue haired prince looked up to me with a pained expression as he averted his gaze from my own.

"I know, sis... but those people are suffering, and we don't have any way to help them because of this bloody feud father had started." He raised his voice, though not at me, or anybody in this room. I wanted to say something to him, but I couldn't deny that the scars of the war that father had started still persisted. Fortunately, Mark was able to speak up in reason to the prince.

"Chrom, calm down. I understand your anger... I really do, but please understand that they're out of our reach, as much as I hate to say it... the only way we can really deal with this problem is once we end the war and agree on peace between both Plegia and Ylisse." Mark reasoned, though Chrom could only give him a hesitant gaze despite taking in his words into consideration.

"But-" The prince objected, but I quickly interjected to stop any further argument.

"Chrom... please." I said softly, an expression of discomfort adorned my face. It seemed sufficient enough for the prince as he dropped any sort of remark or complaint at the instant my voice was spoken out. He sighed, bringing his arms to his side, though he still looked stiff and uncomfortable. Shuffling his feet around awkwardly, he took a glance at everyone around him and frowned apologetically.

"I'm sorry everyone... I guess I just got a bit too worked up." He said, drifting off near the end as his pent up anger still had it's grips on him, but his apology was indeed sincere. Robin smiled knowingly and nodded towards him, her ruby red eyes softly looking up at him.

"It shows that you care for your people, as well as those of innocent lives. You shouldn't apologize for wanting to help those in need." She said wisely, causing all of us -excluding Lon'qu and Mark, of which the latter only seemed to smile brightly- to widen our eyes in surprise, though we all smiled in response to her fruitful and kind words. Chrom stared at her for a moment in surprise, seemingly not expecting the words to come from her own mouth due to her shy tendencies but he appreciated it nonetheless as he took a moment to laugh in delight at her comforting words before nodding, seemingly taking those words to heart.

"I see, thank you."

I continued to smile as I took a moment to observe the people that surrounded my brother. Chrom himself, along with Robin shared a small laugh in unison. Mark kept on his smile, though I could see a strange distant look in his turquoise blue eyes as he watched the two, one I could understand why that would be. Phila smiled and nodded in amusement to herself while Lon'qu simply settled with smiling slightly with a soft grunt of acknowledgement. Frederick, despite retaining his stoic calm, couldn't help but show the slightest upwards curve of his lips in happiness for his lord's own. I knew of how Frederick could be when expressing emotions other than an impassive calm off the battlefield, though it appeared that his opinion of Robin had improved since her own introduction back when the the three had returned from a patrol near Southtown to secure the city's peace. It was surprising that she would be an amnesiac, and Frederick had no problems pointing out that she could potentially be a spy, especially considering the pattern that adorned her robes. Nevertheless, I trusted Chrom's decision to appoint her as the shepherd's own tactician.

Despite his hardened appearance, the wary knight would almost always find a friend in those close to Chrom.

My brother had a natural charisma that drew others towards him, attracting different and interesting but good people to join his cause. He had the makings of a great leader, perhaps more so than I could ever be, even if he may deny it and claim that I was the one to rule the country due to my own unwavering ideals of peace. But the truth was, I was afraid of war, I was afraid of fighting. Perhaps my own scars were the cause of that, but I trusted Chrom to be able to make good decisions of his own will instead of my own. He wasn't afraid like I was, and even if he claims that he felt as if he would fail his people... but I saw it differently.

I do indeed wish for peace amongst my people, as well as peace to those who would welcome it. But I too knew that he didn't want to accept the role of a kingdom's leader, at least not yet. Neither did Lissa think that she would make as good as a ruler as I did, but I believed that she too would be capable of taking over my place... if I were to pass.

"Perhaps we can continue this discussion another time, I know you all must be tired from the journey back from Ferox." I said, noting that further discussion on the topic wouldn't lead us anywhere, especially without telling everyone else first. A meeting would be held to continue the topic of our nest move, but I at least wanted to give them the rest they deserved after all their efforts. Chrom looked up to me gratefully and smiled.

"Will do, Emm." He said, nodding. Though he quickly perked up in surprise before turning to the two new recruits. "Oh, I almost forgot, we should show Lon'qu and Mark around the Shepherd's garrison, not to mention give them a room as well." He said jovially, causing Robin and Frederick to nod in agreement of the suggestion.

"A splendid idea, milord. I shall make preparations for the two's accommodations." Frederick said, gracefully bowing in respect soon after. "I shall take my leave then."

Chrom turned to the man and gave him a nod and smile of thanks, his features softening as he walked up to the wary knight.

"Thank you Frederick. It's a great boon to have you with us." Chrom stated proudly, causing the knight's features to soften in return before shaking his head humbly.

"It's only my duty, milord."

We all watched as Frederick's figure disappeared into the brilliant rays of sunlight that entered from outside the palace doors. The echoing clank of his plated armor gradually fell out of earshot as his pace was set at a controlled yet somewhat hurried speed, conveying the message that he wished to complete the task before the others had the chance to join him; as expected of such a man like him. Chrom to only shake his head in amusement of his friend's eccentric qualities, though none of us could say his efforts weren't appreciated. Having someone as reliable as him work under the halidom was always a great help. Ylisse was blessed to have such a loyal and more than capable man within our ranks.

Chrom clapped his hands together, a smile on his face as he turned to the remaining shepherds that stood around him. "Well, I think it's best that we go back to the barracks and rest up for the rest of the day." He said, receiving a chorus of nods and sounds of approval before moving to turn my way with a look that wished for my own opinion. "Is that alright with you, sis? Captain Phila?" Chrom said, causing both Phila and I to look at each other. Meeting her mahogany red gaze, I raised a brow at her expectantly, to which she nodded after a brief moment of thought.

"The Pegasus Knights will be able to handle any problems that arise, so we'll be fine with handling any patrols for the rest of today." She summarized, her hands crossed behind her back as she bowed gracefully towards me. I nodded in response, thanking her before turning back to the expectant gazes of the four shepherds and smiled.

"Then I see no problem with that. Thank you all for your hard work." I said, bowing respectfully before standing straight again. I could tell how tired they were, their relieved smiles and hums of approval. They deserved rest; after all, forging a friendship between Ylisse and Ferox was a huge step in both kingdom's futures. Not to mention that I would imagine that it would have been a tough endeavor to achieve. Chrom smiled gratefully, his royal blue eyes shining appreciatively with a glimmer of weariness.

"Thank you Emm. Now, if there's nothing left for us to discuss then we'll be heading off." He said as the four began to move towards the doorway. Though my voice spoke out in the midst of their departure, surprising everyone.

"If it's alright, could I ask you stay behind, Sir Mark? I have something I wish to discuss with you."

The group stopped to turn around and look at me curiously. Especially Mark who seemed to raise his eyebrow slightly, intrigued by my proposition. The cyan haired man turned towards his companions, Chrom especially as to ask whether or not it would be alright for him to stay a little while longer. My brother nodded in confirmation, taking a moment to smile to me before bringing along Robin and Lon'qu outside of our field of vision. The cloak clad man walked up to me with an interested expression on his face.

I giggled in response before shaking my head. "Do not worry, I promise that our little talk will be quick." I assured him, causing the man to nod in response but remained silent, giving me room to speak. I eyed him peculiarly, though not out of any sort of suspicion or wariness but rather it was out of pure curiosity. "Forgive me if I am overstepping my bounds, but could I ask you to let down your hood? I would like to face you without any obstructions." I had politely asked him, to which he flinched but obliged.

As he did so, I watched as his turquoise hair cascade down to about his shoulders. He tugged at a few strands as to properly allow his eyes to meet mine as I had asked. I couldn't help but admire his features as a man that I had only known from fantasy had come to life.

The man smiled calmly, keeping an air of formality around him. "Is that satisfactory?" He had asked me, to which I smiled and nodded.

"What is it that you wished to discuss, your grace?"

I took to his eyes for a brief moment, looking deep into them. There was a mix of conflicting emotions present within those round ruby orbs of his', but I had answered accordingly since I had asked for his time.

"Oh I was just curious to know what business the Marquess of Caelin would have here in Ylisse."

The words hung in the air for only us three to hear. Phila's eyes widened tremendously, snapping her gaze towards Mark who didn't seem to be too fazed by my guess. Rather, he instead kept in a silent chuckle before lowering his head, hiding his eyes from mine. "For the record, your Grace. I'm simply just a travelling warrior, my title given to my friend whom I would consider much more capable than myself. So there's no need for honorifics." Mark commented, raising his head forward and leaning forward with a small wink. I simply nodded with a small giggle at his jesting response. He too joined in with a small chuckle before dropping his little act with a small sigh.

"Tell me, was it my hair? Cloak? Oh... I don't really want to get a new one." He mused to himself, though I could only smile concernedly in response.

"I can't deny that your appearance... does stand out quite a bit, but I will say that your hair would be the most out standing feature." I admitted, amused by the man's surprised expression which quickly morphed into one of deep thought.

"I see, perhaps it will just be enough to dye my hair..." Mark placed his hand on his cheek and sighed wearily. Beside me, I found Phila watching the cyan haired warrior murmur to himself on in dumbfounded surprise. It was indeed likely that she too was curious about his conspicuous appearance amongst the rest of the group. Though I believed that we could both agree that his bright blue hair was the most prominent detail of his appearance.

I must say, it is a first for me as well to find such a character considered of importance to act in such a manner, though it was quite relieving. Both Phila and I have both had a fair share of experiences with... less than pleasant people, but Mark seemed quite like Chrom in the sense that he retained that youthful optimism, as well as moments of character. Yet this was only one side of the character I had come to read about... though I was aware that he was at least a bit older than my brother.

"By the way..." Mark's voice cut through my thoughts as I was met with a neutral and blank gaze from the man. "I understand that my presence in Archanea has been hidden, or at least people have not recognized me. It's something that I find very fortunate... though frankly, I was surprised when you knew who I was."

I had expected for such a topic to arise. Mark tilted his head toward me curiously as the words slipped from his mouth as if it were natural.

"Why is that?"

I hesitated for a moment, collecting my thoughts though I kept my gaze steady with a composure of calm. "Over the years of keeping the peace in this kingdom, I have taken up the habit of reading." I explained with a soft tone, causing Mark to nod. "Of course it was a needed skill to be able to supervise the construction of new buildings and signing contracts or treaties, though it was a good way to spend my past time whenever my chores were finished."

Turning my gaze to a particular shelf of books that lined the room's walls, I proceeded to walk towards it, prompting Mark and Phila to follow. "Perhaps those stories helped me learn something new, or sometimes I used them to escape the consequences of reality. Despite the burdens of my people being one that I must bear, there were times where even people like me needed a break." I admitted with a sheepish smile as we stopped in front of the shelf. An array of colors and book spines with various titles embellished on each one lining the fine wood. Phila turned to look at me concernedly. It was her first time hearing of such things, though I was sure that she knew of my hobby. I only smiled reassuringly at her, though her regretful look remained. It wasn't her fault that I felt weak at times, but I knew that I had the strength to overcome them on my own.

"It was when I had come across your story, Sir Mark..."

The cloaked man's eyes widen in surprise as he turned towards me.

"My... story?" He asked tentatively, to which I nodded in response, keeping my eyes glued to the countless collections of books.

"Yes. Strangely enough, the book was given to me by someone I barely knew, yet they had told me it was quite the read." I giggled in amusement as i shook my head, "And it was. It was quite the intriguing tale, especially hearing of the Elibean war. Your friendships, the hardships you and your friends have faced together... it was compelling, I had to admit."

I turned towards him, meeting his gaze as I smiled admirably, "You were an interesting character. While I could say that I could have related more to those who have led nations such as Marquess Eliwood, or Marquess Hector are now... You were someone given a responsibility as the only one who could fulfill the role of the centerpiece in bringing everyone together and working in unison to achieve a goal... but I know such a role comes with many burdens and hardships, but you didn't want to burden others with it as I would with my own reign of a war torn kingdom."

I took in a deep breath before returning my attention back to the tall wall of tales that adorned the weary wood.

"... but you were different than I." My voice sounded softly, but I knew that Phila and Mark could hear every word I said just fine.

I paused for a moment before continuing, I knew that what I would say next were words that have never been spoken aloud. Not to Chrom, Lissa, not to Phila. But at least there was someone that I felt as if I could relate to. "... I never was keen on the idea of conflict, but such things are inevitable despite my efforts for it not to... but I admired how you weren't afraid to help and risk our life, even for those who you had only known for a short while ever since your awakening... Perhaps it may be selfish of me, but I wanted to feel as if I too could be strong enough to lead my people with confidence as you had."

Mark's eyes widen in surprise before his turquoise gaze softened as he shook his head in denial of my claims. "You're already a much better leader than I, your Grace. As I've come to learn, a leader's worth is dependent on the people that support them. You've led a nation from the brink of ruin with ideals of peace instead of war, you've brought soldiers home to their families even when your people threw stones at you for the sins of your own father... That's something that I wouldn't imagine being able to survive or bear on my own."

His gaze shifted a pained ruby color as he averted his gaze. "Despite being praised as a master tactician in Elibe, I've made mistakes... grave ones. There were times where my soldiers would fight against each other... sometimes the topic would fall into something that was entirely my fault, but I didn't have the courage or strength to stop them... console them of their fears." Bringing a hand up through his hair, Mark gave a weary sigh. "Those conflicts would end up causing a rift between my soldiers... and inevitably made the coming fights much more harder. And even though those fights may be over now and their bonds tightened in the end of the long run... I was still a failure in leading them in anything other than battle, where they didn't have a choice but to listen to what I say or else the plan may fall apart." A downcast expression had took over his face, though he lifted his head to offer a soft pained smile.

"To my people, I was praised as a hero who led nations into unity, banding our forces and being the centerpiece in bringing down the dark forces of Nergal... but I know that there are some others who consider me a monster. Someone who had only brought them ruin and chaos... because I didn't have the audacity to shoulder the burdens of my own actions, nor did I have the strength to overcome the consequences that came with my own... heritage." His voice lowered in shame, there was even a tone of shakiness to his words. I could only give him a sympathizing look as I knew very well what he was talking about. The later half of his tale had spoken volumes of his troubles. Then Mark looked up, noticing my frown; though he quickly masked his discomfort with a smile as he continued.

"What you've done is a great thing, your Grace. You've brought a nation on the brink of ruin to be met with prosperity and abundance by your own will alone. Perhaps you seek strength in having the courage to lead your people, but you already have the support of the entire nation in everything you do. They trust you, your Grace, and that isn't something to be taken lightly." He said in a sagely manner, a tone that I knew had come from time spent thinking and experience.

My eyes widen in surprise of the unexpected lesson given by someone I had once considered a faraway character of a tale, but my expression quickly softened as I closed my eyes upon seeing the reality of my situation, taking his words into consideration.

"I see then..." I whispered, a smile quickly. I couldn't help but feel as if a weight had been lifted, all from a simple talk. It only made me laugh upon realizing how easy it was to just take the first step, but it made me happy that I did. My eyes opened once again, though the world around me seemed that much brighter. His ruby red gaze met my own as I could only nod appreciatively. "Thank you for your kind words, truly..."

Mark shook his head with a wave of his hand, returning the smile and nod as he averted his gaze. "Don't worry about it... it's the least I can do for a fellow ruler who has experienced their fair share of troubles. Call it a hunch of sorts, or perhaps it's just a selfish wish... but I felt like you'd have something kept inside that weighed you down as well, much as my own troubles did for me. I could only imagine what you've gone through to take everything your people threw at you... but it feels nice to be able to help people by my own power, especially those who had gone through similar things." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. I could only nod and share a sympathetic smile.

"I can understand..." I said softly, turning my gaze to the side before returning my sights to the green clad man.

"If it's not too much to ask, may I ask why you've journeyed here to Ylisse, not to mention join Chrom's shepherds? Elibe is quite a journey's away from here, not to mention that you decided to join another war." I asked him. Once again, my words were spoken with the intent of clearing up any lingering curiosity rather than suspicion of any sort. To think that the centerpiece of the army that saved the world from the grasps of Nergal would be all the way here, rather than living a simple or grand life in the place he was born in. One would assume that taking part in one war would be enough for one man in a lifetime, but here than man was, aiding us in another one... but after his little speech, I had come to learn that it could be more than just a simple need for adventure. Mark seemed to understand the meaning behind my words, thankfully taking no offense that many others might consider threatening but instead had met the question with a small chuckle.

"It's quite alright, I quite understand your skepticism... As for my reasoning, consider it a pilgrimage of sorts. Or perhaps others may consider it a quest." He replied with a small nod to himself, averting his gaze to stare at the surrounding structure of the room. "My apologies if my answer was not one your looking for, nor was it quite as eloquent as yours... but those details are something that I have reason to keep to myself..."

He paused for a moment spent in thought, though not long after he had sent me a sideways glance.

"Though I have a sneaking suspicion that you already know, don't you?" He asked, causing me to think for a moment before it finally clicking with me.

"I see." I said with a small smile, my eyes closed in thought. It was then that I came to understand the message delivered to me, and it was for great purpose that I followed through with what I was told to do. My eyes opened once again as I looked up to meet his gaze with a smile. "If you wish, you are welcome to use any resources we have here."

Mark's eyes widened slightly in response to my offer, though he put on a sly smile and bowed playfully. "Oh? You spoil me, your grace." He chuckled to himself amused before shaking his head, his expression softening. "But thank you, Lady Emmeryn. I really do appreciate it."

I giggled softly but shook my head, amused by his change in character. "Do not worry. It's the least I can do to repay you for your aid..."

I knew exactly of why Mark would have to go through with such a thing... though I already knew that his quest was for more than just revenge against the fell dragon. Perhaps he may think that revenge is the sole factor in his drive to eliminate the beast, but I would think that it would lie more in the likes of redemption... even if he doesn't believe he deserves it. I could tell, just from a single glance at him. The hesitant yet burning flame in his eyes spoke volumes of his distraction. I could only hope that my own efforts could help the man.

Mark smiled shyly but nodded. He turned around but paused after a moment of thought before turning back towards me. "If it's alright with you, your grace... could you not tell Chrom and others about my title? I'd prefer to avoid any sort of leak in information about my being here." He said with a blank tone that revealed his seriousness in the topic. My eyes widened in surprise, but my eyelids quickly lowered to a more manageable rate as I nodded in understanding. After the talk about the Grimleal cult that was present within Plegia, it would indeed make sense that he should be careful to not reveal his identity as the hero who saved the world from another scouring. There were also a number of reasons why that would be a bad idea, not to mention that it could indeed have dire consequences.

"I understand." I said curtly with an expression that matched his own. Though my expression softened as I bowed towards the man with a smile. "It has been a pleasure in meeting you in person..."

My lips conformed to spell out an unspoken word. Yet one that was very familiar to the man who stood in front of me.

The cyan haired tactician's eyes widened in surprise, though he ran his fingers through his hair chuckled in amusement before shaking his head. He turned towards me once more to bow in a similar fashion, flashing a heartfelt smile. "And to you as well, Lady Emmeryn... If it's alright with you, perhaps we can have another talk, at least when we have the time..." He offered, his hands held behind his back in a formal manner while I nodded in agreeance to his proposal.

"Oh, of course. I would love to welcome your company when I have the time."

I turned my head to the side with hopes of finding Phila there, though surprisingly she wasn't present. My eyes widened and brows raised curiously, I turned around to scan the room in hopes of finding the silver-steel blue haired commander but to no avail. How curious that she had left... perhaps she was aware of the significance behind our little talk. Though I certainly wouldn't have minded her hearing some of the things that had been said in that little chat, perhaps it was for the best that I come to tell her these things myself. I made a closed eyed smile and giggled at the considerate nature of my friend, I would be sure to talk to her after this...

"Your Grace! Forgive me, but I bring alarming news!" Phila's voice cried out from the palace's entrance. Surprised by her sudden entrance, the two of us turned to look towards her. Her expression was enough to tell me that something had happened as her mahogany red eyes were scrunched up in a frustrated manner, not to mention that she seemed to be a little short on breath by the way she huffed lightly. Though that didn't appear to stop her as she quickly stormed towards the two of us.

"Phila! Slow down, please! What's happened?" I asked her worriedly, concerned for what had made my friend so flustered. Mark also seemed confused as he quickly walked up next to me in front of the Pegasus Knight, who had noticed his presence and offered a quick bow before returning her attention back on me. Phila took in a sharp inhale of breath before standing up straight. Her posture was rigid, though she maintained formality. Despite that, the hint of worry in her eyes had unnerved me slightly for what she had to say.

"Your grace, Plegian soldiers have been sighted inside our southwest border! They attacked a village in Themis and abducted the duke's daughter."

* * *

 _Log 4_

 _I must say, Ylisstol was so much more than I could have ever imagined._

 _It was quite the sight to see, people laughing and talking about their day._

 _There was no conflict of any sorts, the only thing I could really remember coming close was just an argument a customer and shopkeeper who had complained that their wares were too expensive..._

 _... it was Anna, of course._

 _Speaking of Anna, I had met one in the bazaar on the road to the palace of the royal family._

 _It was quite fortunate that I had a good sum of gold on me, though I was unable to talk with her for long due to some... unforeseen circumstances._

 _But Ylisse truly was the peace acclaimed country most others had claimed it to be. I was even fortunate enough to meet the person responsible for such a feat._

 _... though I suppose it was a bit of a surprise that she had recognized me, but she had explained that she had apparently read of our story about dealing with Nergal as well as all the other trails our group faced._

 _I wasn't exactly sure of what kind of book existed for her to read about the war, I was sure that the details of the war was only kept by those who witnessed it firsthand..._

 _Besides, Eliwood, Hector and myself had made it clear that any tales of our exploits were to be limited._

 _There was no need for the mention of the legendary weapons for others to find, we had made sure that they stay locked away out of any evil-doer's hands._

 _Though now probably wasn't the best time to think on that._

 _As of now, we are currently heading out to the Plegian and Ylissean border pass due to the capture of the duke's daughter, of which was another member of the shepherds by the name of Maribelle._

 _Apparently she had stayed behind in Ylisse to watch over the garrison, knowing that as a troubadour, her expertise wouldn't help much in terms of combat._

 _It did make sense, there were plenty of capable healers in Ferox, along with the fact that Lissa was already tagging along._

 _Though how she got kidnapped was beyond me, there weren't any signs of struggle inside the garrison... which could only have meant that she had left and got abducted somehow._

 _Frederick had said that the path was surrounded by a mountainous area that shaped the border between the two lands._

 _It was already bad enough that Emmeryn was forced to offer parley to the mad king, but an area such as the mountains will most certainly put us at a disadvantaged position and would most certainly be a perfect set up for an ambush... that is something that I cannot allow._

 _Ylisse was a land that didn't deserved to be tarnished by the hands of the Mad king, and Emmeryn was a ruler I saw a great deal of promise in._

 _I couldn't let her die... I don't want anyone else I care about dying._

 _I would make sure that everyone came out of this alive..._

 _I won't repeat my past mistakes._

 _-o-_

 _Dear Lyn,_

 _I'm sorry that this entry will have to be so short, but there's unfortunately little time to spare since something is going to happen._

 _Today marks the first day that I would have my first battle under the enlistment of the shepherds._

 _Then again, I wouldn't say that it was guaranteed that blood would be shed today, but it's quite evident that the opposing side wishes for conflict._

 _There's much to do in handling the preparations of the Shepherd's equipment load outs, not to mention maintaining weapons and vulnerary distributions._

 _Of course, I would have to help Robin out with some of these things since I was technically the senior of the two, but she seems to pick up pace quick._

 _It's good that she shows promise in such things, though it appears that she already has the basics down before my arrival._

 _Anyways, I probably shouldn't bore you with such things, but I do want to mention that I made a new friend today!_

 _Haha, sounds kind of childish, huh?_

 _But in truth, I think they're going to be someone I will come to rely on in the near future._

 _Perhaps I will tell you about her later, I believe we will be entering the arranged meeting spot soon, so it would be wise to make a final check with everyone to ensure that everything goes smoothly._

 _Or at least, if things go wrong, we are well prepared to handle what they throw at us._

 _Wish me luck._

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Hey guys, sorry for the huge delay on this chapter. I've been working on other chapters for my other story, and it took quite a while to actually get to complete it (though strangely enough, it only took a few days for me to double the content from where I last left it.)**

 **I really like Emmeryn, and she's such an interesting character. It's a shame that we don't get to see a lot of her before her death (and amnesiac state), but her character was indeed intriguing. I hope she didn't seem out of character since she seems quiet and reserved, yet speaks when there is conflict that needs to be settled. I thought that it would be good to delve into some inner conflict, so I hope you guys enjoyed that, it was really fun to write and I hope to write more of her in the future. (though I had a few debates on whether to put some on this in as she doesn't seem the type to ever want to put the blame on anyone else)**

 **Anyways, this chapter was quite a bit longer than I originally expected, but I do hope you guys have enjoyed it anyways.**

 **The next one will most likely involve a fighting scene as per Gangrel's reinforcements. Hopefully it turns out as well as the last one I wrote between Mark and Robin, though of course it will be a bit faster paced and will involve some blood (we'll see if it's M rated or not, though it's probably not that bad?)**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Ignis**


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